Ioannidis Konstantinos, Chamberlain Samuel R
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK.
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2021 Jul 15;23(9):56. doi: 10.1007/s11920-021-01271-7.
We aimed to accrue recent evidence exploring effects of modern online activities (e.g., Internet use) on feeding and eating disorder symptoms, and related traits. We examined available evidence to ascertain any direct influences from online activities on feeding and eating disorders, thereby shedding light on putative mechanisms by which those influences may occur.
Many facets of problematic usage of the Internet correlate cross sectionally with eating disorder and related psychopathology. There is evidence to suggest that significant effects do exist in the direction of specific Internet activities contributing to eating disorder symptoms, viewed dimensionally. Putative mechanisms are discussed. However, a significant number of eating disorder phenotypes and Internet-related activities remain under-researched. Specific facets of engagement with the online environment appear to confer risk for feeding and eating problems, evidence being strongest for non-clinical studies using dimensional measures. More research is required to rigorously confirm causal effects, including in patients meeting formal diagnostic criteria for eating disorders. We also highlight the need for high-quality evidence to explore how eating disorder phenotypes are commonly as well as uniquely affected by different online activities. Such research is needed in order that scientific understanding in this area can be translated to protect those most at risk of disordered eating, including through changes in public health approaches and clinical practice.
我们旨在积累近期证据，探究现代在线活动（如使用互联网）对进食及饮食失调症状以及相关特征的影响。我们审视现有证据，以确定在线活动对进食及饮食失调是否存在直接影响，从而阐明这些影响可能发生的潜在机制。
互联网使用问题的诸多方面与饮食失调及相关精神病理学存在横断面相关性。有证据表明，从维度角度来看，特定的互联网活动确实会对饮食失调症状产生显著影响。文中讨论了潜在机制。然而，大量的饮食失调表型和与互联网相关的活动仍未得到充分研究。参与在线环境的特定方面似乎会带来进食和饮食问题的风险，这一证据在使用维度测量的非临床研究中最为有力。需要更多研究来严格证实因果效应，包括对符合饮食失调正式诊断标准的患者的研究。我们还强调需要高质量证据来探索不同在线活动如何普遍且独特地影响饮食失调表型。开展此类研究是为了将该领域的科学认识转化为保护那些最易出现饮食失调风险的人群，包括通过改变公共卫生方法和临床实践来实现。
