2026 ECNP Congress

PS03-3068

Anhedonia in the general population: its impact on eating behaviours and psychological dimensions

Pornjira Pariwatcharakul — T. Kayankit, P. Chongsuksiri, N. Sa-nguanpanich, L. Thongchot, P. Pramyothin · Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital- Mahidol University, Department of Psychiatry, Bangkok, Thailand

2026 ECNP Congress

Background

: Anhedonia—the diminished capacity to experience pleasure—is a transdiagnostic feature in depressive and anxiety disorders and is increasingly associated with altered food reward processing and eating behaviour.[1] Individuals with higher anhedonic traits exhibit distinct food pleasure profiles, showing reduced hedonic and sensory engagement with eating.[2] The COVID-19 pandemic substantially disrupted eating patterns and psychological well-being, with heightened stress and emotional dysregulation emerging as key contributors to maladaptive eating.[3] Despite growing clinical interest in the intersection of anhedonia and eating behavior in people with mental disorders, evidence from the general population remains limited.

Objectives

This study aimed to (i) estimate the prevalence of anhedonia and (ii) examine sociodemographic, psychological, and eating-related factors associated with anhedonia among the general population.

Methods

An online cross-sectional study was conducted among 590 participants in Thailand between July 2022 and June 2023. Because standardised Thai version of anhedonia assessment tools was unavailable, anhedonia was assessed using the first item of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), operationalised as a PHQ-1 score of ≥2. A set of self-rating scales was administered, including the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), Food Craving Questionnaire-Trait Reduced (FCQTr), Reward-Based Eating Drive–13 (RED-13), Palatable Eating Motives Scale-Revised (PEMS-R; social, coping, enhancement and conformity subscales), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), PHQ-9, Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics scale (SAVE-6), Perceived Stress Scale, Weight-Related Social Norms Scale (WrSNS), and the Modified Sallis Social Support Scale (SSS). Sociodemographic and lifestyle variables were additionally collected. Between-group differences were examined using independent-samples Mann-Whitney U tests, and logistic regression was performed to identify factors independently associated with anhedonia.

Results

Of 590 participants aged 12-80 years, 25.8% (n = 151) had anhedonia. Compared with non-anhedonic participants, those with anhedonia were significantly younger and scored higher on anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), alexithymia (TAS-20), food craving (FCQTr), reward-based eating (RED-13), disordered eating attitudes (EAT-26), pandemic-related stress (SAVE-6), and all PEMS-R subscales except social motives (all p < .05). No significant differences were found for social support (WrSNS, SSS-Family, SSS-Friends) or current BMI. Univariate binary logistic regression identified depression (PHQ-9: OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.35–1.52), anxiety (GAD-7: OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.24–1.35), alexithymia (TAS-20: OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.04–1.08), coping-driven eating motives (PEMS-R: OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.15–1.26), and female sex (OR = 2.41, 95% CI: 1.54–3.78) as significant predictors of anhedonia. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, after adjustment for age and sex, alexithymia (TAS-20: aOR = 1.042, 95% CI: 1.024–1.060), and coping-driven eating motives (PEMS-R: aOR = 1.019, 95% CI: 1.006–1.033) remained significant.

Conclusions

Anhedonia was prevalent in approximately one-quarter of the general population and was significantly associated with alexithymia and coping-motivated eating. These findings are consistent with evidence that alexithymia impairs emotional regulation and promotes maladaptive, food-based coping strategies [4,5], and suggest that interventions targeting emotion regulation and eating motivations are warranted. Future longitudinal research is needed to clarify temporal and causal relationships between anhedonia and disordered eating behaviours.

References

  1. Dolan SC, Khindri R, Franko DL, Thomas JJ, Reilly EE, Eddy KT. Anhedonia in eating disorders: A meta-analysis and systematic review. Int J Eat Disord. 2022;55(2):161–175. doi:10.1002/eat.23645
  2. Hyldelund NB, Byrne DV, Chan RCK, Andersen BV. The relationship between social anhedonia and perceived pleasure from food. Foods. 2022;11(22):3659. doi:10.3390/foods11223659
  3. Burnatowska E, Surma S, Olszanecka-Glinianowicz M. Relationship between mental health and emotional eating during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review. Nutrients. 2022;14(19):3989. doi:10.3390/nu14193989
  4. McAtamney K, Mantzios M, Egan H, Wallis DJ. Emotional eating during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: exploring the roles of alexithymia and emotion dysregulation. Appetite. 2021;161:105120. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2021.105120
  5. Fernandes J, Ferreira-Santos F, Miller K, Torres S. Emotional processing in obesity: a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2018;19(1):111–120. doi:10.1111/obr.12607