Relationship of behavioral addictions to eating disorders and substance use disorders

Abstract

There is growing evidence for the similarity between eating disorders and substance use disorders with respect to etiology, neurobiology, clinical presentation, and effective treatments. In addition, they each have features commonly seen in impulse control disorders, which are also frequently characterized as behavioral addictions. Therefore, it is not surprising that eating disorders and substance use disorders frequently are comorbid not only with each other but with pathological gambling and/or other behavioral addictions. This chapter will examine what is known about the clinical presentation, epidemiology, etiology, and treatment of behavioral addictions commonly comorbid with eating disorders and substance use disorders. Identifying and successfully managing these comorbid behavioral addictions are essential in order to achieve positive outcomes in individuals suffering from eating disorders and substance use disorders due to the increased illness severity and poor treatment response associated with this comorbidity.