Early Response to treatment in Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review and a Diagnostic Test Accuracy Meta‐Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Early response to eating disorders treatment is thought to predict a later favourable outcome. A systematic review of the literature and meta-analyses examined the robustness of this concept. METHOD: The criteria used across studies to define early response were summarised following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Diagnostic Test Accuracy methodology was used to estimate the size of the effect. RESULTS: Findings from 24 studies were synthesized and data from 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis. In Anorexia Nervosa, the odds ratio of early response predicting remission was 4.85(95%CI: 2.94-8.01) and the summary Area Under the Curve (AUC) = .77. In Bulimia Nervosa, the odds ratio was 2.75(95%CI:1.24-6.09) and AUC = .67. For Binge Eating Disorder, the odds ratio was 5.01(95%CI: 3.38-7.42) and AUC = .71. CONCLUSION: Early behaviour change accurately predicts later symptom remission for Anorexia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder but there is less predictive accuracy for Bulimia Nervosa.