Co-occurring weight- and/or shape-motivated restriction in 5,747 adults with probable ARFID

medRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Jul 29:2025.07.28.25332146. doi: 10.1101/2025.07.28.25332146.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: According to DSM-5-TR, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) cannot be diagnosed alongside anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), or any other body image disturbance. This does not accurately reflect real-world symptomatology and recent research findings, indicating the potential need to revise DSM-5-TR Criteria. In this study, we investigated the co-occurrence of weight- and/or shape-motivated restriction (WSR) in a large sample of adults who screened positive for ARFID, thereby providing evidence to inform such changes.

METHODS: The sample comprised 5,747 adults who consented to participate in the ARFID-Genes and Environment (ARFID-GEN) research study, screened positive for ARFID on the NIAS and PARDI-AR-Q, and completed the EDE-Q. Based on EDE-Q responses, participants were placed into four groups: groups one and two additionally screened positive for AN (ARFID-AN; n=147) or BN (ARFID-BN; n=193), group three also endorsed significant WSR without meeting AN or BN screening criteria (ARFID-WSR; n=2,097), and group four endorsed ARFID symptoms only (ARFID-nWSR; n=3,310). We used generalized linear models to test group differences on the NIAS, PARDI-AR-Q and EDE-Q.

RESULTS: ARFID-nWSR showed lower scores than all other groups across most ARFID dimensions on the NIAS and PARDI-AR-Q, as well as lower odds of meeting DSM-5-TR Criteria A1 to A4 (i.e., weight loss; nutritional deficiencies; dependence on nutritional supplements; significant interference with psychosocial functioning) .

DISCUSSION: These findings indicate the presence of a mixed phenotype with features of both ARFID and WSR that is associated with more severe ARFID symptomatology as measured by NIAS and PARDI-AR-Q in the general population. The current DSM-5-TR Criteria may not accurately capture complex real-world symptomatology in adults with probable ARFID, potentially precluding those with the most severe symptoms from receiving diagnoses that accurately reflect their clinical presentation and from accessing appropriate care.

PMID:40766117 | PMC:PMC12324660 | DOI:10.1101/2025.07.28.25332146