Treatment characteristics among patients with binge-eating disorder: an electronic health records analysis

Treatment for adults diagnosed with binge-eating disorder (BED) includes psychotherapy and/or pharmacotherapy and aims to reduce the frequency of binge-eating episodes and disordered eating, improve metabolic-related issues and reduce weight, and address mood symptoms. Data describing real-world treatment patterns are lacking; therefore, this study aims to characterize real-world treatment patterns among patients with BED.

This retrospective study identified adult patients with BED using natural language processing of clinical notes from the Optum electronic health record database from 2009 to 2015. Treatment patterns were examined during the 12 months preceding the BED recognition date and during a follow-up period after BED recognition (1-3 years for most patients).

Among 1042 patients, 384 were categorized as the BED cohort and 658, who met less stringent criteria, were categorized as probable BED. In the BED cohort, mean ± SD age was 45.2 ± 13.4 years and 81.8% were women (probable BED, 45.9 ± 12.8 years, 80.2%). A greater percentage of patients in the BED cohort were prescribed pharmacotherapy (70.6% [probable BED, 66.9%]) than received/discussed psychotherapy (53.1% [probable BED, 39.2%]) at baseline. In the BED cohort, 54.4% of patients were prescribed antidepressants (probable BED, 52.4%), 25.3% stimulants (probable BED, 20.1%), and 34.4% nonspecific psychotherapy (probable BED, 24.6%) at baseline, with no substantive differences observed during follow-up. Low percentages of patients in the BED cohort received/discussed cognitive behavioral therapy at baseline (12.5% [probable BED, 9.0%) or during follow-up (13.0% [probable BED, 8.8%). Among patients with ≥1 psychotherapy visit, the mean ± SD number of visits in the BED cohort was 1.2 ± 5.9 at baseline (probable BED, 1.7 ± 7.3) and 2.2 ± 7.7 during follow-up (probable BED, 2.6 ± 7.7).

This cohort of patients with BED was treated more frequently with pharmacotherapy than psychotherapy. These data may help inform strategies for reducing differences between real-world treatment patterns and evidence-based recommendations.