There is growing evidence that impulsivity plays an important role in Eating Disorders (EDs), as it can negatively affect the illness’ development and the treatment success. The aim of this study...Show moreThere is growing evidence that impulsivity plays an important role in Eating Disorders (EDs), as it can negatively affect the illness’ development and the treatment success. The aim of this study is to examine whether there are differences in impulsivity between restricting subtype EDs, binge-eating/purging subtype EDs, and healthy controls using a neuropsychological assessment tool. It has been hypothesized that patients with a restricting ED had the lowest degree of impulsivity and patients with a binge-eating/purging ED the highest. Additionally, it was investigated if there is a correlation between the degree of impulsivity and the level of vitamin D in patients with an ED, whereby a negative correlation was expected. This study has a cross-sectional design with an observational nature. A total of 183 patients with an ED has participated in this study: 54 were patients with a restricting ED and 129 patients with a binge-eating/purging ED. The control group consisted of 45 participants. The sample size for the vitamin D analysis consisted out of 144 participants. The degree of impulsivity was determined by the Go/No-Go Task and the vitamin D level was determined by an analysis of a blood sample. To investigate the first hypothesis a MANOVA was performed. The second hypothesis was tested with the Pearson correlation coefficient. The MANOVA showed there was no significant effect of the group type on the degree of impulsivity, Λ = 0.967, p = 0.108. The Pearson correlations revealed a non-significant relation between a person's vitamin D level and the number of commission errors, r = 0.72, p = 0.172 or the vitamin D level and total reaction time, r = -0.05, p = 0.531. In conclusion, it would appear that there is no difference in the degree of impulsivity between the binge-eating/purging subtype, the restricting subtype, and the control group, and there is no relationship between a person's vitamin D level and impulsivity. It is critical that future studies using a combination of self-reports and neuropsychological assessment tasks examine the impact of ED subtypes on impulsivity. By investigating the possible function of vitamin D supplementation, novel treatment interventions that can target impulsivity from a clinical and physiological approach may be developed.Show less
