Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40920681›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Resting vagal tone, alpha amylase and cortisol levels in women with eating disorders before and after psychotherapy.

Simone Munsch, Nadine Messerli-Bürgy, Marius Rubo, Andrea H Meyer, Kathrin Schopf, Nadine Humbel, Felicitas Forrer, Dirk Adolph, Jürgen Margraf, Silvia Schneider

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Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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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

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Simone MunschClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Food Research and Innovation Center, FRIC, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6187-8912
Nadine Messerli-BürgyClinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Marius RuboCognitive Psychology, Perception and Research Methods, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Andrea H MeyerClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Food Research and Innovation Center, FRIC, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Kathrin SchopfFaculty of Psychology, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Nadine HumbelClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Food Research and Innovation Center, FRIC, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Felicitas ForrerClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Food Research and Innovation Center, FRIC, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Dirk AdolphFaculty of Psychology, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Jürgen MargrafFaculty of Psychology, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5207-7016
Silvia SchneiderFaculty of Psychology, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN) were previously found to partly entail alterations in stress physiology including salivary cortisol (sC), and salivary alpha amylase (sAA) at rest and basal vagal tone (HF-HRV), compared to individuals without mental disorders or with mixed mental disorders (anxiety and depressive disorders), but corresponding data remain scarce and are not entirely consistent.

methodHF-HRV, sC and sAA at rest were assessed in a female sample of 58 individuals with AN and 54 individuals with BN before and after psychotherapy and contrasted against measurements from 59 female individuals suffering from mixed disorders and 101female healthy controls.

resultsValues for sC were elevated in AN compared to all other groups, those for HF-HRV were highest in both AN and BN and lowest in mixed mental disorders and no differences were found at rest for sAA. During psychotherapy, HF-HRV changed more in AN and BN groups than in HC or mixed samples. sC and sAA remained unchanged. There was no association between BMI and stress physiology.

conclusionAlterations in stress physiology present differently across EDs and mixed mental disorders. Correlates of physiological functioning remained mostly stable throughout 3 months of psychotherapy. Only basal vagal tone was normalized in AN/BN in comparison to HC. This might indicate that physiological changes can occur early, but mostly take longer to change during treatment. Trial registration: Data were assessed during a multi-site cross- and longitudinal experimental trial registered at the German Clinical Trials Registry (trial number: DRKS00005709; see [1] for details).

Indexed as

alpha-AmylasesFeeding and Eating DisordersHydrocortisonePsychotherapyVagus NerveAdolescentAdultAnorexia NervosaBulimia NervosaCase-Control StudiesFemaleHumansSalivaYoung Adultalpha-AmylasesHydrocortisone

Identifiers

PMID40920681
PMCPMC12416730

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Registered trials

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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.