Connectome-based predictive modeling of longitudinal development of muscularity-oriented disordered eating and links...

Muscularity-oriented disordered eating, characterized by disordered eating symptoms driven by the pursuit of a muscular physique, is an emerging public health concern. Although childhood maltreatment has been linked to thinness-oriented disordered eating, underpinned by the pursuit of a thin ideal, little is known about the longitudinal associations between specific subtypes and muscularity-oriented disordered eating or the neural mechanisms mediating these associations.

This study used two-wave data from an ongoing research project tracking college freshmen at a university in Chongqing, China. At Time 1, 212 participants (Age: M (SD) = 18.87 (0.97) years; 38% men) completed behavioral assessments and resting-state fMRI scans, and 144 returned for follow-up at Time 2. We examined these relationships through connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) and mediation analysis.

Only childhood physical abuse showed a significant indirect effect on T2 muscularity-oriented disordered eating via T1 muscularity-oriented disordered eating. CPM identified the most significant predictive connections in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, and cerebellum, with positive muscularity-oriented disordered eating networks primarily linking the salience/limbic network to the cerebellum and the fronto-parietal network to the default mode network. In the brain-behavior model, childhood physical abuse's effect on muscularity-oriented disordered eating was partly mediated by these CPM-derived networks.

Childhood physical abuse emerged as a predictor of muscularity-oriented disordered eating from both behavioral and neural perspectives. These findings underscore the clinical importance of early identification of childhood physical abuse and support the development of integrated psychological and neurobiological interventions to prevent the development of muscularity-oriented disordered eating.