Yamamotova A, et al. – The link between body image perception, body dissatisfaction, and nociception was contemplated in this trial, in women with eating disorders and age–matched healthy control women. The basis of the yielded results was certain shared mechanisms of body dissatisfaction and pain perception. The data validated the importance of negative emotions, specific for eating disorders. It led to an improved comprehension of the psychosomatic features of this spectrum of illnesses.

Methods

• The body dissatisfaction and pain sensitivity were estimated in 61 patients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition diagnoses of eating disorders (31 anorexia nervosa and 30 bulimia nervosa) and in 30 healthy women.
• An analysis was carried out of the thermal pain threshold latencies via an analgesia meter and body image perception.
• The body dissatisfaction were assessed using Anamorphic Micro software (digital pictures of their own body distorted into larger-body and thinner-body images).

Results

• It was found that the patients with eating disorders overestimated their body size.
• However, the two study groups did not differ in body dissatisfaction.
• In anorexia and bulimia patient groups, body dissatisfaction (calculated in pixels as desired size/true image size) appeared to be associated with pain threshold latencies (r=0.55, p=0.001).
• On the other hand, there was no link between body image perception (determined as estimation size/true image size) and pain threshold.
• In patients with eating disorders, pain perception was notably relted to emotional contrary to sensory (visual) processing of one’s own body image.
• The more the patients desired to be thin, the more pain-sensitive they were.