Characterization and Relationship Between Eating Disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The first author who suggested that eating disorders (EAD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) share common features was Christopher Gilberg in 1980. Currently it is known that patients with ED have social impairment, which is also a risk marker to develop ED, eating disturbances are overrepresented in ASD, ED and ASD have common behavioural features such as rigidity, perfectionism, and harm avoidance; and common cognitive profiles such as inflexibility, high attention to detail, high scores in systemizing profiles and poor results in advanced theory of mind tests. This relationship is also supported by similar neural phenotypes such as atypical structure and function in social brain regions found in both disorders.

The aim of the present study is to explore the relationship between ED and ASD traits in a sample of Spanish participants diagnosed with AN, bulimia nervosa (BN), binge-eating disorder (BED) and other eating disorders (OED). Specifically, the investigators aim to explore possible differences within the different ED and its particular transdiagnostic features in association with autistic traits.

The sample will consist of 90 patients with ED and 45 healthy controls (HC) without any current or lifetime history of mental disorder, both groups will be compared regarding ED and ASD features. Also patients will be reassessed in a 5 year follow up.