Weissman Ruth Striegel, Martin-Wagar Caitlin A, Attaway Sarah, Penwell Taylor, Hogan Ava, Pruscino Isabella
Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA.
Int J Eat Disord. 2024 Dec;57(12):2341-2358. doi: 10.1002/eat.24309. Epub 2024 Oct 21.
Night eating syndrome (NES) is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 5th edition, as an example of "Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders" with minimal guidance about how to define and operationalize NES. The literature suggests that research practices vary widely, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the public health burden of, effective interventions for, or policy implications relevant to NES. This Forum article seeks to illustrate the lack of definitional agreement to underscore the need for a consensus about NES diagnostic criteria, and to propose steps toward closing knowledge gaps and achieving consensus.
We searched PubMed and PsycINFO titles and abstracts, using "NES" as the search term, for research articles published in English between January 1, 2013 to August 12, 2024 with sample sizes of NES > 10 and ages 18 or older. Eligible articles were coded for NES definitions and assessment method used to diagnose participants with NES and for information about comorbidity of NES and any other eating disorder (ED).
Seventy-three articles met inclusion criteria. Most commonly, NES was diagnosed using a diagnostic criteria set (35/73) or a symptom score threshold (34/73); among the former, only eight studies employed DSM-5 NES criteria. Thirteen studies, varying widely in methodology, examined comorbidity with other EDs, most commonly binge-eating disorder where comorbidity was high.
Heterogeneity of definitions and assessment impede progress in the study of NES. We propose strategies for developing a consensus definition and addressing research gaps.
夜食综合征（NES）被纳入《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第5版，作为“其他特定的喂养或进食障碍”的一个例子，但关于如何定义和实施NES的指导极少。文献表明，研究方法差异很大，难以就NES的公共卫生负担、有效干预措施或相关政策影响得出结论。这篇论坛文章旨在说明定义上缺乏一致性，以强调对NES诊断标准达成共识的必要性，并提出缩小知识差距和达成共识的步骤。
我们在PubMed和PsycINFO数据库中搜索标题和摘要，使用“NES”作为检索词，查找2013年1月1日至2024年8月12日期间发表的英文研究文章，样本量为NES＞10且年龄在18岁及以上。符合条件的文章根据用于诊断NES参与者的NES定义和评估方法进行编码，并获取有关NES与任何其他进食障碍（ED）共病的信息。
73篇文章符合纳入标准。最常见的是，使用诊断标准集（35/73）或症状评分阈值（34/73）来诊断NES；在前者中，只有8项研究采用了DSM-5的NES标准。13项研究（方法差异很大）考察了与其他ED的共病情况，最常见的是暴饮暴食障碍，共病率很高。
定义和评估的异质性阻碍了NES研究的进展。我们提出了制定共识定义和解决研究差距的策略。
