Loomes Rachel, Chivers Katy, Georgeaux-Healy Chloé, Mandy Will, Jewell Tom
Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
Children & Young Persons' Community Eating Disorder Service, South West London & St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, London, UK.
Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2025 Jul;33(4):800-814. doi: 10.1002/erv.3181. Epub 2025 Mar 5.
To synthesise qualitative findings on the autistic experience of restrictive eating disorders in order to identify common themes and use this to inform future research on the development of more effective care.
This systematic review was pre-registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023434116) and followed PRISMA guidelines. CINAHL, PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, Web of Science and Global Health databases were searched. Studies were included if they contained qualitative data detailing the autistic experience of restrictive eating disorders from autistic people, carers or healthcare professionals. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme was used to assess quality of studies. Recurring themes were identified via thematic synthesis.
Nine studies met the inclusion criteria, all focused on anorexia nervosa. Four themes arose from the analysis: (1) the relationship between autism and restrictive eating; (2) the journey to self-understanding; (3) experience of eating disorder services; (4) suggested treatment adaptations.
Findings suggest a broad range of mechanisms underlying the development and perpetuation of anorexia nervosa that are related to autism and are not consistently acknowledged and addressed in current care provision. This emphasises the need for more research into developing adapted or novel interventions for autistic people with eating disorders, as well as training programmes for clinicians.
综合关于限制性饮食失调的自闭症体验的定性研究结果，以识别共同主题，并以此为未来更有效护理的发展研究提供信息。
本系统评价在PROSPERO（CRD42023434116）上进行了预注册，并遵循PRISMA指南。检索了CINAHL、PsycINFO、Medline、Embase、Web of Science和全球健康数据库。如果研究包含来自自闭症患者、照顾者或医疗保健专业人员的定性数据，详细描述了限制性饮食失调的自闭症体验，则纳入研究。使用批判性评估技能计划来评估研究质量。通过主题综合确定反复出现的主题。
九项研究符合纳入标准，均聚焦于神经性厌食症。分析得出四个主题：（1）自闭症与限制性饮食之间的关系；（2）自我理解的历程；（3）饮食失调服务的体验；（4）建议的治疗调整。
研究结果表明，神经性厌食症的发展和持续存在有多种机制，这些机制与自闭症有关，而在当前的护理服务中并未得到一致的认识和解决。这强调需要更多地研究为患有饮食失调症的自闭症患者开发适应性或新颖的干预措施，以及为临床医生开展培训项目。
