Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33544361›Full record

Observational studyEating and weight disorders : EWD2021

Is orthorexia nervosa a feature of obsessive-compulsive disorder? A multicentric, controlled study.

G Vaccari, A Cutino, F Luisi, N Giambalvo, S Navab Daneshmand, M Pinelli, G Maina, G M Galeazzi, S Kaleci, U Albert and 2 more

Open access · greenAbstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Eating and weight disorders : EWD, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. ORTO-Measured Orthorexia Nervosa-Related Tendencies Among Dancers Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multivariate Analysis.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2026
    Observational
  3. Pathological Eating Patterns in Adults Displaying Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: A Scoping Review.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Prevalence and determinants of orthorexia nervosa among Turkish adolescents.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. The Relationship between Orthorexia Nervosa and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2023
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

G VaccariSchool of Specialization in Geriatrics, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
A CutinoSchool of Specialization in Psychiatry, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
F LuisiSchool of Specialization in Psychiatry, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
N GiambalvoPrivate Hospital Casa Di Cura Villa Rosa, Modena, Italy.
S Navab DaneshmandSchool of Specialization in Psychiatry, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
M PinelliSchool of Specialization in Psychiatry, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
G MainaDepartment of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
G M GaleazziSection of Clinical Neurosciences, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Largo del Pozzo 71, 41124, Modena, Italy.
S KaleciDepartment of Surgical, Medical, Dental and Morphological Sciences With Interest in Transplant, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
U AlbertDepartment of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
A R AttiDepartment of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
S FerrariPsychiatric Unit, San Luigi Gonzaga University Hospital, Orbassano, Turin, Italy. silvia.ferrari@unimore.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7929-4520
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia · ITOspedale San Luigi Gonzaga · ITUniversity of Bologna · ITUniversity of Trieste · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe term orthorexia nervosa (ON) was coined to describe altered thoughts and behaviours related to healthy eating. The prevalence of ON was found to scale up to almost 90% among high-risk populations (ballet dancers, athletes, and health workers). ON seem to share psychopathological aspects with both Eating Disorders (ED) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The aim of the study was to analyse the frequency and intensity of ON symptoms among subjects diagnosed with OCD, hypothesising that they would be higher than in two control groups (subjects with anxiety-depressive disorders and general population).

methodsWe conducted a multi-centre, observational, controlled study. Subjects filled in a socio-demographic questionnaire including questions related to life-style and two psychometric instruments: ORTO-15, for ON symptoms, and OCI-R, for OCD symptoms. Post hoc analysis of the dataset was performed using the revised version of ORTO-15, the ORTO-R.

resultsIn the final sample of 328 subjects, the overall prevalence of ORTO-15-ON was 59.5%, mean score 37.9 ± 4.2. The mean score at the ORTO-R was 16.6 ± 4.6. No statistically significant differences were found in the prevalence of ON or in the mean ORTO-15 score among OCD patients and the two control groups, and this was confirmed by the multiple regression analysis. At the ORTO-R re-scoring, OCD patients scored significantly lower than the two clinical subgroups (p = .0005) and a lower ORTO-R score was associated to positivity at the OCI-R, confirming the initial hypothesis of the study.

conclusionsON symptoms do seem to be more prevalent among subjects suffering from OCD. The psychometric properties of tools available to calculate ON symptoms, namely ORTO-15 vs. ORTO-R, play a relevant role in explaining such finding. ORTO-R seems to be a valid alternative able to overcome such difficulties, though further studies are needed to confirm this.

Indexed as

Feeding and Eating DisordersObsessive-Compulsive DisorderFeeding BehaviorHealth BehaviorHumansPsychometricsSurveys and QuestionnairesDiagnostic criteriaEating disordersObsessive–compulsive disorderOrthorexia nervosaORTO-15ORTO-RPsychopathology

Identifiers

PMID33544361
OpenAlexW3128603048

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.