Prospective associations between binge eating symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk factors in early adolescence: a cohort study

Background This study examined prospective associations between binge eating symptoms and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in early adolescents. Methods This prospective cohort study included 6,959 adolescents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study with data collected at ages 11–12 years (2018–2020) and ages 13–14 years (2020–2022). Binge eating symptoms were assessed at ages 11–12 years via parent report using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS-5). Cardiovascular disease risk factors at ages 13–14 years included BMI percentile, waist circumference percentile, blood pressure percentile, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and lipid profiles. Associations were estimated using linear regression for continuous outcomes and modified Poisson regression for binary outcomes, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical covariates. Results Binge eating symptoms were present in 6.01% of adolescents ages 11–12 years. The presence of binge eating symptoms was prospectively associated with higher BMI percentile (B = 2.33, 95% CI: 0.60, 4.06, p = 0.008), higher waist circumference percentile (B = 5.06, 95% CI: 2.68, 7.44, p < 0.001), higher diastolic blood pressure percentile (B = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.21, 2.18, p = 0.018), higher A1c (B = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.20, p = 0.008), and lower HDL cholesterol (B = -6.02, 95% CI: -9.15, -2.89, p < 0.001). No significant sex differences were observed after Benjamini–Hochberg correction for multiple comparisons. Conclusions Binge eating symptoms in early adolescence were prospectively associated with multiple CVD risk factors two years later. These findings highlight the potential relevance of binge eating symptoms to cardiovascular health during adolescence and warrant further research into their relationship with CVD risk over time.