Investigating the prevalence of probable night eating syndrome among preclinical medical students and the mediating role of impulsivity in its relationship with chronotype

The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence of night eating syndrome (NES) among preclinical medical students. All participants were asked to complete a socio-demographic form, Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11), Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptom Scales (PHQ-SADS), and the Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Self-report Scale (ASRS). The participants were categorised according to their NEQ scores, and statistical analyses were carried out between the groups. The mean NEQ score of the participants was 16.31 ± 5.48, and 8.8% were diagnosed with probable NES. Those with probable NES had higher MEQ, PSQI, BIS-11, PHQ-15, GAD-7, PHQ-9, ASRS-A and ASRS-B scores. A moderate positive association was identified between the NEQ score and PSQI and PHQ-9. ASRS-B and BIS-11 were found to have a mediating role in the relationship between NES and MEQ. The findings of our study suggest that the prevalence of probable NES in preclinical medical students is higher than the general population, and that NES symptomatology is associated with many psychiatric clinical entities in addition to depressive and sleep disorders included in the diagnostic criteria.