Is ARFID a DSM diagnosis?
ARFID is in the DSM-5 and is a diagnosable disorder that can affect mental health; however, it is not diagnostically the same as mood disorders.
While not everyone on the autism spectrum will have ARFID, and vice versa, it's estimated that up to a third of people with ARFID are also autistic.
The types of ARFID include: Avoidant, Aversive, Restrictive, Adult ARFID and ARFID “Plus.”
The fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) resulted in substantial changes with regard to the classification of Eating Disorders. In DSM-5, Feeding and Eating Disorders are for the first time subsumed in a single category.
ICD-10 code F50. 82 for Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders .
A neurodivergent person may experience ARFID. ARFID can also be considered a form of neurodivergence on its own. ARFID, ADHD, Anxiety and Depression can all change the way a person thinks and experiences the world.
ARFID and autism are closely related, but they're not synonymous. Understanding the differences and similarities could help you make informed decisions about your treatment.
The best evidence suggests that about 0.3% of people 15 years old and older have ARFID. Rates of ARFID in adults could be much higher in people with gastrointestinal (GI) issues. A study of adults who presented for a GI evaluation found: 23.6% of people had some symptoms of ARFID.
The Difference Between ARFID and SPD
SPD, on the other hand, is a neurological disorder that affects the way an individual processes sensory information from the environment. While they can both manifest in similar ways, ARFID is an eating disorder, while SPD is a neurological disorder.
3 ARFID is described by some as “food neophobia,” where difficulty with novelty leads to a limited diet. Parents often report that their children with ARFID had trouble transitioning to mixed foods from single baby foods. They also often report they had a specific sensitivity to textures such as “mushy” or “crunchy.”
When was ARFID added to the DSM-5?
Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a recent eating disorder diagnosis introduced in the “Feeding and Eating Disorders” section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth edition) (DSM-V) (1), in 2013.
Eating disorders often co-occur with other psychiatric disorders most commonly, mood and anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and alcohol and substance use disorders.
New in the DSM-5: Binge Eating Disorder | National Eating Disorders Association.
6B83 Avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder - ICD-11 MMS.
2024 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code F50. 82: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.
2024 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code R63. 3: Feeding difficulties.
“This study suggests that ARFID is highly heritable. The genetic component is higher than that of other eating disorders and on par with that of neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and ADHD,” added Dr. Dinkler.
As you learned in Chapter 1, a distinction between ARFID and other eating disorders (like anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa) is an absence of serious body-image distress. In other words, in ARFID, feeling badly or overly worried about how your body looks or how much you weigh is absent.
Kids with ARFID are more likely to have: anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit disorder (ADHD) problems at home and school because of their eating habits.
While someone with ARFID may be obsessive about avoiding eating food, sometimes a person experiences both ARFID and OCD. In some cases, the two disorders can appear similar, but when someone has both conditions, they will meet the distinct diagnostic criteria for each disorder.
Is ARFID a neurological disorder?
ARFID, like all eating disorders, likely has complex neurological and biological underpinnings. It is not a choice. Also like other eating disorders, there is not a single cause of ARFID.
Kids and adults with ARFID often have other mental health conditions, such as anxiety disorders or OCD, too. It's also more likely in kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or intellectual disabilities. But it's not clear exactly how these things are linked to ARFID.
Unlike anorexia, ARFID does not involve fears of being overweight or concerns about body shape or size. People with ARFID do not consume enough calories to support basic body functions or to grow and develop properly. In adults, this results in weight loss, while in children, it stalls weight gain and growth.
ARFID replaces "feeding disorder of infancy or early childhood," which was a diagnosis in the DSM-IV restricted to children 6 years of age or younger; ARFID has no such age limitations and it is distinct from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in that there is no body image disturbance.
This means that 79 per cent of the risk of developing ARFID are explained by genetic factors. “This study suggests that ARFID is highly heritable. The genetic component is higher than that of other eating disorders and on par with that of neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and ADHD,” says Dr. Dinkler.
References
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