Common Transdiagnostic Factors in Eating Disorders, Disordered Eating, and Mental Health Symptoms
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 April 2026 | Viewed by 14
Special Issue Editors
Interests: eating disorders; behavioral addictions; methodology; clinical psychology; health sciences
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: restrictive food intake disorder; feeding practices; assessment; neuropsychology; childhood; adolescence; binge-eating disorder; eating disorders
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Disordered eating and eating disorders (EDs) are marked by some of the highest levels of comorbidity within the field of mental health, most frequently co-occurring with mood, anxiety, substance use, obsessive–compulsive disorder, autism spectrum conditions, and personality disorders. This pervasive overlap adds substantial complexity to their clinical presentation and poses significant challenges to traditional categorical approaches, which conceptualize disorders as distinct and independent entities. The consistently high rates of co-occurrence suggest that EDs cannot be adequately understood in isolation, but rather as part of a broader network of interconnected psychopathological processes. This complexity highlights the importance of moving beyond rigid diagnostic boundaries and adopting frameworks that more accurately capture the shared features and dynamic interactions across disorders.
An increasing body of research underscores the importance of transdiagnostic perspectives, which emphasize the role of shared etiological and maintenance mechanisms that extend beyond conventional diagnostic categories. Processes such as emotion regulation difficulties, impulsivity, maladaptive perfectionism, problematic interpersonal functioning, intolerance of uncertainty, alexithymia, cognitive inflexibility, and altered interoceptive awareness have been identified as transdiagnostic factors implicated not only in EDs but also across a wide range of other mental states.
The transdiagnostic approach provides an integrative framework for understanding the links between EDs and comorbid symptoms/disorders, while clarifying the mechanisms that sustain symptom clusters across conditions. By targeting these shared vulnerabilities, clinical practice may advance toward more flexible and effective interventions, ultimately improving outcomes across diverse forms of psychopathology.
This Special Issue seeks to move beyond disorder-specific categories by focusing on the shared processes underlying disordered eating and EDs. By integrating insights across clinical, translational, and basic research, it aims to advance a more nuanced and clinically meaningful understanding of these complex psychopathological phenomena. Contributions to this Special Issue have the potential to inform the development of precise measurement tools for the early detection of eating-related symptoms and the identification of ED endophenotypes, as well as to guide the design of effective, evidence-based interventions tailored to the specific needs of individuals affected by disordered eating behaviors. We welcome manuscript submissions including original research articles, systematic reviews, and scoping reviews that address these goals from diverse methodological and theoretical perspectives.
Prof. Dr. Roser Granero
Dr. Isabel Krug
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- disordered eating
- malnutrition
- emotional eating
- nutritional comorbidity
- eating disorders
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