Quantification of diet quality utilizing the rapid eating assessment for participants-shortened version in bipolar disorder: Implications for prospective depression and cardiometabolic studies

Objectives: Recognizing bipolar disorder as a multi-system metabolic condition driven, in part, by binge eating behavior and atypical depressive symptoms, this study aimed to quantify diet quality and evaluate clinical correlates in a bipolar disorder cohort. Methods: Participants from the Mayo Clinic Bipolar Disorder Biobank (n = 734) completed the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants – Shortened version (REAP-S) to determine diet quality. The average REAP-S score for a U.S. omnivorous diet is 32 (range 13 to 39) with higher scores indicating healthier diet. Demographic variables were collected in a standardized clinical questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Bipolar Inventory of Symptoms Scale. Cardiometabolic variables were retrieved from the electronic health record. Associations between continuous variables and REAP-S scores (total, ‘healthy foods’ and ‘avoidance of unhealthy foods’) were assessed using linear regression. Results: Overall, our sample had a mea...