Rapid response to treatment for binge eating disorder.

Author: Grilo CM, Masheb RM, Wilson GT

Author affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA. carlos.grilo@yale.edu

Publication date & source: 2006.06, J Consult Clin Psychol., 74(3):602-13.

Publication type: Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

The authors examined rapid response among 108 patients with binge eating disorder (BED) who were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 16-week treatments: fluoxetine, placebo, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) plus fluoxetine, or CBT plus placebo. Rapid response, defined as 65% or greater reduction in binge eating by the 4th treatment week, was determined by receiver operating characteristic curves. Rapid response characterized 44% of participants and was unrelated to participants' demographic or baseline characteristics. Participants with rapid response were more likely to achieve binge-eating remission, had greater improvements in eating-disorder psychopathology, and had greater weight loss than participants without rapid response. Rapid response had different prognostic significance and distinct time courses for CBT versus pharmacotherapy-only treatments. Rapid response has utility for predicting outcomes and provides evidence for specificity of treatment effects with BED. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved.