Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Night Eating Syndrome in University Students

Feb 4, 2014The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine

How common and important night eating syndrome is among university students

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Abstract

The prevalence of night eating syndrome (NES) in a sample of 1,636 students was 4.2%.

Students with NES had significantly higher eating disorder symptom scores compared to those without NES.
Purging, laxative use, and compulsive exercise were reported more frequently among students with NES.
Quality of life was reduced in students with NES, alongside higher instances of depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and self-injury.
The presence of binge eating did not fully explain the differences in psychopathology observed between NES and non-NES groups.
NES may have distinct clinical implications that warrant further consideration separate from other eating disorders.

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PURPOSE: Most studies of night eating syndrome (NES) fail to control for binge eating, despite moderate overlap between the two conditions. Establishing the independent clinical significance of NES is imperative for it to be considered worthy of clinical attention. We compared students with and without NES on eating disorder symptomatology, quality of life, and mental health, while exploring the role of binge eating in associations.

METHODS: Students (N = 1,636) ages 18-26 years (M = 20.9) recruited from 10 U.S. universities completed an online survey including the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q), Project Eating Among Teens, and the Health-Related Quality of Life-4. NES was diagnosed according to endorsement of proposed diagnostic criteria on the NEQ. Groups (NES vs. non-NES) were compared on all dependent variables and stratified by binge eating status in secondary analyses.

RESULTS: The prevalence of NES in our sample was 4.2%; it decreased to 2.9% after excluding those with binge eating. Body mass index did not differ between groups, but students with NES were significantly more likely to have histories of underweight and anorexia nervosa. In students with NES, EDE-Q scores were significantly higher; purging, laxative use, and compulsive exercise were more frequent; quality of life was reduced; and histories of depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and self-injury were more common. Binge eating did not account for all of these differences; the presence of it and NES was associated with additive risk for psychopathology on some items.

CONCLUSIONS: NES may be a distinct clinical entity from other DSM-5 eating disorders.

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Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Night Eating Syndrome in University Students

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