Prevalence and Characteristics of Binge Eating Disorder Tendencies in Middle-aged Japanese Men Who Underwent Health Check-up

抄録

 Objective: To investigate the prevalence of binge eating disorder (BED) and associated health check-up characteristics in Japanese adult men

 Design: Cross-sectional study

 Setting: A health check-up center in Kyoto, Japan, between October 2022 and March 2023

 Participants: Adult men (N = 2,255) who completed a 2-day health check-up

 Main outcome measures: BED tendencies were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Venous blood samples were collected for estimating total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, hemoglobin A1c, fasting insulin, and serum leptin.

 Results: The median (interquartile range) age was 50 (44–56) years, body mass index (BMI), 23.4 (21.6–25.9) kg/m², and waist circumference, 84.5 (79–91) cm. BED was identified in 12 participants (0.53%). Among the 1,790 individuals not receiving medication for hypertension, diabetes, or dyslipidemia, nine (0.50%) exhibited BED tendencies, while 1,781 served as non-BED tendency controls. Compared with the non-BED tendency group, the BED-tendency group had low HDL cholesterol levels and high BMI, waist circumference, triglyceride levels, GPT levels, and 60- and 120-min 75-g oral glucose tolerance test values, while the median serum leptin concentration was higher in the BED-tendency group (17.5 [6.5–23.6] ng/dL vs. 8.7 [5.8–12.8] ng/dL). State anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression were higher in the BED-tendency group than in the non-BED tendency group.

 Conclusions: BED tendency (observed in approximately 0.5% of the participants) was associated with a higher risk of visceral fat accumulation–type obesity, future diabetes, and increased anxiety and depression.