Binge-eating disorder can be treated with talk therapy or drugs
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Teenage girl crying on sofa during therapy session while therapist is taking notes
People with recurring episodes of binge-eating can be helped with talk therapy or medication, according to a new review of previous studies.
People with binge-eating disorder have brief, psychologically distressing binge-eating episodes multiple times a week for at least three months. The disorder is linked to mental health problems, chronic pain, obesity and diabetes, the researchers write in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Binge-eating disorder will affect about 3 percent of people in the U.S. during their lifetimes, according to lead author Kimberly Brownley, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her colleagues.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brownley's team analyzed data from nine studies of psychological treatments and 25 studies of medications in patients with binge-eating disorder.
A type of psychotherapy called cognitive behavioral therapy, a class of drugs known as second-generation antidepressants and the amphetamine known as lisdexamfetamine, or Vyvanse, all helped reduce binge-eating, the researchers found.
The medications also reduced obsessions and compulsions related to the disorder.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CBT can teach people to identify thoughts associated with binge-eating, and help them change their behaviors, Brownley said.
Additionally, lisdexamfetamine and second-generation antidepressants can help decrease people's impulses to eat.
Examples of second-generation antidepressants include citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft). The study can't prove whether one second-generation antidepressant is better than the others, however.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lisdexamfetamine and topiramate (Topamax) also led to weight loss among people with binge-eating disorders.
"We can't say if any of these treatments is fundamentally better than the other," Brownley said. "There have been no head-to-head (comparisons) and that's really essential."
The review shows, however, that treatments are available and people don't have to suffer through the disorder alone, she added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In an editorial accompanying the new review, Dr. Michael Devlin, of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City says doctors can have a hard time recognizing binge-eating disorder.
"Greater than expected weight dissatisfaction, large weight fluctuations, and depressive symptoms in individuals of any size all should raise the practitioner's index of suspicion," he suggests.