Personality Disorders in Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified and Binge Eating Disorder

A Meta-analysis of Comorbidity Studies

Abstract

A meta-analysis was conducted to identify the proportion of comorbid personality disorders (PDs) in patients with eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) and binge eating disorder (BED). A search identified 20 articles in the period of 1987 to 2010. For EDNOS and BED, the comorbid proportions for any PD were 0.38 and 0.29, respectively; for cluster C PDs, 0.38 and 0.30, respectively (avoidant PD, 0.18 and 0.12, and obsessive-compulsive PD, 0.11 and 0.10, respectively); and for cluster B PDs, 0.25 and 0.11, respectively (borderline, 0.12 and 0.10). This pattern converged with findings on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, except being lower. Because the comorbidity profiles for EDNOS and BED were highly similar, their underlying PD pathology seems similar. Few moderators were significant, except for interviews yielding lower estimates than that of questionnaires. The variance statistic for any PD comorbidity was wide for EDNOS and narrow for BED, thus partly supporting BED as a distinct eating disorder category and EDNOS as a potentially more severe condition than BED.