Table 1 Descriptive statistics of the study sample.

From: Longer duration of amenorrhea is associated with lower delay discounting and less hedonic eating in girls and young women with low-weight eating disorders

Variable

LWED (n = 56)

HC (n = 34)

U statistic

p

Wilcoxon r

Age (years)

19.84 (2.98)

19.08 (2.41)

791.50

0.183

0.14

BMI (kg/m2)

17.97 (2.16)

21.71 (2.57)

1,802.50

 < 0.001

0.75

BMI z score (age < 20 years: n = 30 LWED, n = 22 HC)

-1.22 (0.98)

0.07 (0.85)

641.00

 < 0.001

0.61

EDE global score

2.38 (2.50)

0.00 (0.00)

22.50

 < 0.001

0.83

Daily caloric intake derived from 24-h recalla

2,158.33

(1,422.53)

1,638.49 (806.07)

1,001.00

0.036

0.23

VAS hunger fasting/pre-mealb

52.00 (40.00)

65.00 (16.50)

1,248.00

0.008

0.28

Standardized meal caloric intake (kcal)

401.81 (54.37)

401.81 (54.83)

1,016.50

0.593

0.06

- % of daily caloric intake

17.11 (12.89)

22.14 (11.13)

572.00

0.041

0.22

Standardized snack caloric intake (kcal)

204.03 (38.36)

210.81 (19.56)

1,066.00

0.342

0.10

- % of daily caloric intake

9.27 (6.28)

11.65 (6.50)

557.00

0.029

0.23

Race

- Asian

9 (16.07%)

6 (17.65%)

 

 > 0.999

 

- White

46 (82.14%)

28 (82.35%)

  

- Other

1 (1.79%)

   

Ethnicity

- Hispanic or Latino

4 (7.14%)

1 (2.94%)

 

0.646

 

- Not Hispanic or Latino

52 (92.86%)

33 (97.06%)

  

Duration of illness (months)c

18.06 (28.66)

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

LWED diagnoses

 

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

- Restricting AN

19 (33.93%)

    

- Binge-eating/purging AN

10 (17.86%)

    

- Atypical restricting AN

21 (37.50%)

    

- Atypical binge-eating/

purging AN

6 (10.71%)

    

Co-existing psychiatric diagnoses

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

- Depressive disorder

9 (16.07%)

    

- Generalized anxiety

28 (50.00%)

    

- Panic disorder

9 (16.07%)

    

- Social anxiety

11 (19.64%)

    

- Separation anxiety

2 (3.57%)

    

- Phobic disorder

5 (8.93%)

    

- Obsessive–compulsive disorder

2 (3.57%)

    

- Post-traumatic stress disorder

2 (3.57%)

    

- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

2 (3.57%)

    

Psychoactive medications

 

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

19 (33.93%)

    

- Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors

3 (5.36%)

    

- Mirtazapine

1 (1.79%)

    

- Benzodiazepines

5 (8.93%)

    

- Stimulants

2 (3.57%)

    

- Mood stabilizers

2 (3.57%)

    

- Antipsychotic medications

3 (5.36%)

    

- Antihistamines

1 (1.79%)

    

Current treatment programs

 

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

- Residential treatment centers

14 (25.00%)

    

- Full-day treatment programs

3 (5.36%)

    

- Intensive outpatient programs

2 (3.57%)

    

- Outpatients

25 (44.64%)

    

- No treatment

12 (21.43%)

    

Total lifetime duration of amenorrhea (since menarche, months)

16.50 (22.64)

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Delay discounting task

Ln(k) overalld

-5.99 (3.19)

-5.76 (1.53)

933.50

0.273

0.12

Ln(k) small

-5.56 (2.29)

-4.63 (1.18)

964.50

0.164

0.15

Ln(k) medium

-6.45 (3.08)

-5.54 (2.73)

930.50

0.283

0.11

Ln(k) large

-6.44 (3.21)

-6.44 (2.04)

954.50

0.192

0.14

LDR overall (%)

66.67 (35.19)

55.56 (23.15)

681.50

0.209

0.13

LDR small (%)

55.56 (27.78)

44.44 (16.67)

709.00

0.312

0.11

LDR medium (%)

66.67 (38.89)

55.56 (33.33)

701.00

0.279

0.11

LDR large (%)

66.67 (38.89)

66.67 (25.00)

673.50

0.179

0.14

Consistency (%)

96.30 (7.41)

92.59 (3.70)

690.50

0.224

0.13

Cookie Taste Test

VAS hunger pre-Cookie Taste Teste

16.00 (35.50)

24.00 (24.00)

1,097.00

0.142

0.15

Total intake (g)

15.00 (16.03)

34.65 (43.98)

1,559.50

 < 0.001

0.53

Caloric intake (kcal)f

64.47 (73.52)

153.72 (136.26)

1,544.00

 < 0.001

0.52

- % of daily caloric intake

3.61 (4.01)

8.13 (12.36)

301.00

 < 0.001

0.49

  1. AN, anorexia nervosa; BMI, body mass index; EDE, Eating Disorder Examination (clinical interview); HC, healthy controls; LDR, larger, delayed reward; ln(k), natural logarithm (base e) of delay discounting rate k; LWED, low-weight eating disorder; VAS, visual analog scale.
  2. Data distributions were visually inspected and formally tested using Shapiro–Wilk test (normality assumption) and Levene test (variance homogeneity assumption). For study groups LWED and HC, n (%) are stated for count variables. Median (interquartile range) are stated for continuous variables. Given deviations from normality in several variables, group differences between LWED and HC were tested using nonparametric Mann Whitney U-test (U-value, p-value, and effect size estimate (Wilcoxon’s r) are stated; Fisher’s exact test was applied for categorical/count variables). Delay Discounting task characteristics are provided overall and for different reward magnitudes (small: LDR amounts $25, $30, and $35; medium: LDR amounts $50, $55, and $60; large: LDR amounts $75, $80, and $85). aDaily caloric intake was estimated using a 24-h dietary recall completed on the day preceding the main study visit. bVAS “How hungry do you feel?” rating (scale: 0–100) assessed in the fasting state (pre-meal), serving as a reference. cMonths since clinical diagnosis. dLWED diagnostic subgroups did not differ in ln(k) overall. Ln(k) overall median (IQR) in restricting AN: -6.45 (2.72), binge-eating/purging AN: -5.77 (2.21), atypical restricting AN: -6.22 (2.97), and atypical binge-eating/purging AN: -6.22 (4.61). Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA for ln(k) overall differences between LWED subgroups: H = 0.17, p = 0.983. eVAS “How hungry do you feel?” rating (scale: 0–100) assessed in the postprandial state, prior to the Cookie Taste Test. fLWED diagnostic subgroups did not differ in Cookie Taste Test caloric intake. Caloric intake median (IQR) in restricting AN: 56.58 (93.98) kcal, binge-eating/purging AN: 73.79 (53.29) kcal, atypical restricting AN: 67.47 (69.79) kcal, and atypical binge-eating/purging AN: 87.36 (77.22) kcal. Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA for differences in caloric intake between LWED subgroups: H = 0.43, p = 0.934.
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