La night eating syndrome

Abstract

Introduction

The night eating syndrome (NES) is a disorder that has been the object of interest in the scientific community only in recent years. For this reason, there are no universally accepted diagnostic criteria for this syndrome, and data in the literature on NES are often discordant. We conducted a critical review of the literature, which focused on the epidemiologic, psychopathological, and clinical features of NES, in order to provide a systematic analysis of the most relevant data in the field.

Materials and methods

We carried out a search of the PubMed and MedLine electronic archives and scientific books for studies and reviews regarding NES published since 1990.

Results and discussion

The reported prevalence of NES varies widely in both community and clinical samples. The core symptoms of NES are evening hyperphagia, morning anorexia, nocturnal eating, and insomnia. The syndrome is also frequently associated with important medical and psychiatric comorbidities. Thus far, there is a dearth of reliable data regarding therapeutic strategies for NES, although the results of some studies suggest that pharmacological (sertraline and topiramate) or psychotherapeutic (cognitive behavior therapy) interventions might be useful.