ReviewJournal of eating disorders2022
Serum and plasma levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in individuals with eating disorders (EDs): a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Journal of eating disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of Eating Disorders in People With Borderline Personality Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Clinical psychology & psychotherapyPooled it
- Psilocybin Treatment as an Adjunct to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders: Therapeutic Rationale & Considerations for Protocol Development.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Identification of a neural basis for anorexia nervosa.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Decoding the Spectrum of Anorexia Nervosa: Clinical Impact, Molecular Insights, and Therapeutic Perspectives.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Article
- Genetic Predisposition and Severity of Eating Disorders- A Review.CNS & neurological disorders drug targets · 2025Review
- Exploring the neurobiological correlates of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in eating disorders: a review of potential methodologies and implications for the psychedelic study design.Journal of eating disorders · 2024Review
- Efficacy of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in the Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa (BN): A Review and Insight into Potential Mechanisms of Action.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- The efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation in the treatment of anorexia nervosa: a randomized double-blind clinical trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Barking up the wrong biomarker? Correspondence to Shobeiri et al. (2022) "Serum and plasma levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in individuals with eating disorders (EDs): a systematic review and meta-analysis".Journal of eating disorders · 2022Article
- Long-lasting BDNF signaling alterations in the amygdala of adolescent female rats exposed to the activity-based anorexia model.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Article
- Salivary BDNF to predict at-risk status of eating disorders in young nutritionist Jordanian females: Results from a preliminary multistage study.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBrain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is essential for neuronal survival, differentiation, development, and plasticity. Evidence suggests that fluctuations in peripheral levels (i.e., plasma or serum) of BDNF are associated with eating behaviors. Nevertheless, the findings are inconsistent. The purpose of this study is to determine if serum or plasma levels of BDNF are altered in individuals with eating disorders (EDs) compared to controls.
methodsWe conducted a systematic search of the core electronic medical databases from inception to March 2022 and identified observational studies that compared individuals with EDs to controls without EDs on serum or plasma levels of BDNF. R version 4.0.4 was used for all visualizations and calculations.
resultsThe current meta-analysis comprised 15 studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Subjects with EDs (n = 795) showed lower BDNF levels compared to non-EDs controls (n = 552) (SMD: - 0.49, 95% CI [- 0.89; - 0.08], p-value = 0.01). Moreover, subgroup analysis was conducted based on the specimen (plasma and serum), which revealed no statistically significant difference in the levels of BDNF between the two subgroups (p-value = 0.92). Additionally, meta-regression results revealed that publication year, mean age of the individuals with EDs, NOS scores, and the number of individuals with EDs collectively accounted for 25.99% percent of the existing heterogeneity.
conclusionLower BDNF levels are associated with EDs.
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Registered trials
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.