Characterizing Eating Behavioral Phenotypes in Mood Disorders: A Cross-sectional Investigation

Characterizing Eating Behavioral Phenotypes in Mood Disorders: A Cross-sectional Investigation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Characterizing Eating Behavioral Phenotypes in Mood Disorders: A Cross-sectional Investigation Elena Koning, Jill A. Jacobson, Elisa Brietzke This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7973864/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Maladaptive eating behaviors in mood disorders are diverse and clinically relevant but have only been characterized into phenotypes based on theoretical evidence. The objective of the current study is to assess the prevalence of maladaptive eating behavior phenotypes (EBP) in mood disorders based on empirical evidence. Methods An online survey package including five questionnaires was administered to assess the prevalence and proportion of maladaptive eating behaviors in a mood disorder population (n = 100). Principal component analysis (PCA) and mixed measures analysis of variance (mANOVA) were conducted to characterize maladaptive EBPs. Results Numerous maladaptive eating behaviors were identified in MDD and BD, including poor dietary quality, emotional eating, binge eating and night eating behaviors. Differences between diagnostic groups are discussed. Three EBPs were characterized according to the PCA: 1) food impulsivity; 2) emotional eating and 3) mindfulness in eating, with a significant influence of age and medication on the characterizations according to the mANOVA. Conclusions Three unique phenotypes of maladaptive eating behavior were identified in the current mood disorder population, informing larger validation studies. EBPs should be clinically investigated as psychiatry moves towards a more comprehensive, personalized approach to diagnosis and treatment. Major Depressive Disorder Bipolar Disorder Eating Behavior Nutrition Mood Figures Figure 1 Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterialsEBP.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7973864","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":548083909,"identity":"adeb2441-4514-4662-8ddb-dbbb605bfd9d","order_by":0,"name":"Elena Koning","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACdjCZwMDADKQ+EKWFGUkL4wzStIDYPMTo4GdmPvbgB0OanDk77+HXNmWH5fil259JMNTY4dQi2cyWbtjDkGNs2cyXZp1z7rCx5JwzZhIMx5JxajE4zGMmwcNQkbgByDDObTucuOFGDpsEYwMzTi32h/m/Sf6BabFsO1y//0b6M6CWety2MPOwSfMw5IC0GD9mbDucYCCRYAbUchinFonDbGbSMgZpxiAXMvacSzeccSPH2CLh2HGcWvjbm59JvqlIljM4f8b4w48ya3n+GekPb3yoqcapBeo8MMkmwcAGFUggoAEGmD/AtYyCUTAKRsEoQAIAM7VJxDr26UAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Queen’s University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elena","middleName":"","lastName":"Koning","suffix":""},{"id":548083910,"identity":"22197a00-38d9-47e5-9cdb-fdac71488175","order_by":1,"name":"Jill A. 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Blue, red and green represent components 1 (food impulsivity), 2 (emotional eating) and 3 (mindfulness in eating), respectively. A 3-dimensional visualization of participants’ component scores is shown in D.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7973864/v1/70757b11ba2ecfb4c0369bf9.png"},{"id":108520754,"identity":"012fe708-c92a-47cb-8830-2585fbf02d8e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-05 14:12:14","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":752648,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"EBPManuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7973864/v1_covered_891fb2c2-4776-49cb-925f-67db2274b631.pdf"},{"id":96861227,"identity":"5276278e-7996-4776-bfeb-75bb0f12bd13","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-26 22:36:24","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":411813,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterialsEBP.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7973864/v1/8a0d2f8a21251394ae2d7997.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eCharacterizing Eating Behavioral Phenotypes in Mood Disorders: A Cross-sectional Investigation\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Eating Behavior, Nutrition, Mood","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7973864/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7973864/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaladaptive eating behaviors in mood disorders are diverse and clinically relevant but have only been characterized into phenotypes based on theoretical evidence. The objective of the current study is to assess the prevalence of maladaptive eating behavior phenotypes (EBP) in mood disorders based on empirical evidence.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn online survey package including five questionnaires was administered to assess the prevalence and proportion of maladaptive eating behaviors in a mood disorder population (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;100). Principal component analysis (PCA) and mixed measures analysis of variance (mANOVA) were conducted to characterize maladaptive EBPs.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eNumerous maladaptive eating behaviors were identified in MDD and BD, including poor dietary quality, emotional eating, binge eating and night eating behaviors. Differences between diagnostic groups are discussed. Three EBPs were characterized according to the PCA: 1) food impulsivity; 2) emotional eating and 3) mindfulness in eating, with a significant influence of age and medication on the characterizations according to the mANOVA.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree unique phenotypes of maladaptive eating behavior were identified in the current mood disorder population, informing larger validation studies. EBPs should be clinically investigated as psychiatry moves towards a more comprehensive, personalized approach to diagnosis and treatment.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Characterizing Eating Behavioral Phenotypes in Mood Disorders: A Cross-sectional Investigation","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-26 22:36:20","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7973864/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"f0b8d998-c2d4-42ae-ba65-67549447764c","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 26th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Rejected","date":"2026-05-05T13:58:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-05T10:43:08+00:00","index":71,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-05T14:11:29+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-26 22:36:20","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7973864","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7973864","identity":"rs-7973864","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}