Table 1.
Characteristics of studies.
| References | Group | Mean age (SD) | Mean BMI (SD) | % female | Empathy measure | Mean (SD) total empathy | Subscales reported? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) cognitive empathy | Mean (SD) affective empathy | |||||||
| Adenzato et al. (45) | 30 AN | 19.73 (6.06) | 15.06 (1.74) | 100 | EQ | 44.17 (11.47) | NR | NR |
| 32 HC | 20.47 (2.72) | 20.21 (1.45) | 100 | 50.72 (8.35) | ||||
| Aloi et al. (46) | 22 BED | 43.8 (10.7) | 36.9 (4.2) | 81.4 | EQ | 41.8 (14.9) | NR | NR |
| 16 sub-threshold BED | 42.5 (11.3) | 37.5 (4.5) | 68.8 | 50.5 (11.6) | ||||
| 20 obese controls | 50.6 (8.6) | 38.2 (6.5) | 45 | 50.1 (12.4) | ||||
| Baron Cohen et al. (47) | 66 AN | 17.85 (0.39) | NR | 100 | EQ (adult and adolescent versions)† |
Younger: 44.7 (16.4) Older: 49.6 (9.7) |
NR | NR |
| 1609 HC | 18.56 (3.99) | NR | 100 |
Younger: 51.2 (14.3) Older: 48.0 (11.3) |
||||
| Butler and Montgomery (48) | 15 AN | 27.9 (9.9) | NR | 100 | I7 | 15.40 (2.61) | NA | NA |
| 16 HC | 28.4 (8.3) | 22.75 | 100 | 14.19 (2.74) | ||||
| Calderoni et al. (49) | 32 AN | 14.78 (1.75) | 15.07 (1.54) | 100 | IRI | 5.13 (6.98) | 0.44 (6.87) | 4.69 (7.08) |
| 41 HC | 14.02 (1.69) | NR | 100 | 9.44 (5.66) | 5.24 (6.45) | 4.20 (4.75) | ||
| Courty et al. (50) | 15 AN | 23.9 (4.7) | 16.4 (1.7) | 93.33 | EQ-short | 23.0 (6.8) | NR | NR |
| IRI | 70.8 (4.83) | 34.1 (4.85) | 36.7 (4.8) | |||||
| 15 HC | 24.0 (4.9) | 21.0 (1.8) | 93.33 | EQ-short | 21.1 (7.4) | NR | NR | |
| IRI | 73.09 (3.79) | 38.3 (3.31) | 35.6 (4.22) | |||||
| 15 ASD | 28.1 (7.5) | 23.2 (5.0) | 13.33 | EQ-short | 10.1 (5.7) | NR | NR | |
| IRI | 65.5 (4.77) | 32.6 (4.73) | 32.9 (4.81) | |||||
| 15 HC | 28.1 (7.3) | 22.2 (3.0) | 13.33 | EQ-short | 19.9(3.4) | NR | NR | |
| IRI | 67.0 (3.39) | 34.7 (2.75) | 32.3 (3.93) | |||||
| Duchesne et al. (51) | 60 BED | NR | 38.1 | 100 | IRI | 81.4 (4.04) | 42.4 (4.40) | 39.0 (3.65) |
| 60 obese controls | NR | 37.9 | 100 | 81.3 (3.95) | 42.7 (3.36) | 38.6 (4.46) | ||
| 54 HC | NR | 21.4 (1.6) | 100 | 80.6 (4.02) | 43.4 (4.30) | 37.2 (3.72) | ||
| Feldman and Eysenck (52) | 45 BN | 25.13 (6.59) | NR | 100 | I7 | 14.73 (3.17) | NA | NA |
| 761 HC | NR | NR | 100 | 14.39 (2.87) | ||||
| Gramaglia et al. (53) | 39 AN | 30.59 (3.0) | 16.3 | NR | IRI | 82.93 (3.81) | 41.19 (4.48) | 41.74 (2.99) |
| 48 HC | 33.19 (3.37) | 21.82 | 100 | 80.48 (3.78) | 41.9 (4.15) | 38.58 (3.37) | ||
| Guttman and Laporte (54) | 28 AN | 22 | NR | 100 | IRI | 72.7 (5.60) | 35.1 (5.51) | 37.6 (5.69) |
| 26 BPD | 32 | NR | 100 | 78.9 (5.45) | 34.7 (5.56) | 44.2 (5.35) | ||
| 27 HC | 21 | NR | 100 | 71.9 (4.83) | 35.9 (4.61) | 36 (5.04) | ||
| Hambrook et al. (55) | 22 AN | 26.73 (4.77) | 15.27 (1.22) | 100 | EQ | 45.9 (12.5) | NR | NR |
| 45 HC | 32.51 (9.63) | 23.36 (3.76) | 100 | 46.2 (11.1) | ||||
| Jermakow and Brzezicka (56) | 11 AN | 26.80 (4.3) | NR | 100 | EQ | 44.60 (8.58) | NR | NR |
| IRI | 63.10 (3.39) | 34.9 (6.22) | 28.2 (4.46) | |||||
| 33 female HC | 21.33 (1.4) | NR | 100 | EQ | 42.42 (9.84) | NR | NR | |
| IRI | 70.03 (2.13) | 38.52 (4.40) | 31.52 (4.40) | |||||
| 10 ASD | 28.30 (9.5) | NR | 0 | EQ | 30.00 (5.05) | NR | NR | |
| IRI | 57.90 (2.20) | 33.5 (5.59) | 24.4 (3.64) | |||||
| 27 male HC | 21.76 (2.0) | NR | 0 | EQ | 32.63 (9.97) | NR | NR | |
| IRI | 62.70 (2.33) | 33.38 (5.60) | 29.33 (5.21) | |||||
| Lule et al. (57) | 15 AN | 16.2 (1.26) | 17.07 (1.44) | 100 | IRI | 121.14 (11.25) | NR | NR |
| 15 HC | 16.5 (1.09) | 21.06 (1.57) | 100 | 118.50 (10.20) | ||||
| Morris et al. (58) | 28 AN | 26.3 (7.9) | 15.5 (1.3) | 100 | SEQ | 18.8 (2.5) | NA | NA |
| 25 AN-REC | 29.5 (9.2) | 20.1 (1.9) | 100 | 19.8 (3.0) | ||||
| 54 HC | 29.4 (9.6) | 23.1 (3.9) | 100 | 20.4 (2.4) | ||||
| Nandrino et al. (59) | 23 AN | 19.64 (1.82) | 15.2 (1.07) | 100 | BES | 79.57 (6.70) | 35.57 (3.45) | 44.00 (5.44) |
| 23 HC | 20.65 (1.90) | 21.05 (1.78) | 100 | 80.78 (6.04) | 36.78 (3.19) | 44.00 (4.93) | ||
| Peres et al. (60) | 41 AN | 16.2 (1.4) | 79.78 (8.71) %IBW | 100 | IRI | 74.44 (4.30) | 35.5 (6.99) | 39.0 (6.45) |
| 38 HC | 15.84 (1.83) | 100.5 (11.71) %IBW | 100 | 73.1 (4.1) | 37.6 (7.18) | 35.6 (5.21) | ||
| Redondo and Herrero-Fernandez(61) | 38 AN | 21.9 (5.30) | NR | 100 | EQ-short | 23.42 (7.25) | 11.26 (4.84) | 7.11 (2.68) |
| IRI†† | NR | NR | NR | |||||
| 321 HC | NR | NR | 100 | EQ-short | 25.79 (7.21) | 11.03 (4.63) | 7.55 (2.35) | |
| IRI†† | NR | NR | NR | |||||
Significant differences between ED and HCs are indicated in bold. Italics indicate where scores were not reported in the study, but could be calculated from subscale scores. Potential significant differences could therefore not be reported for calculated scores. AN, anorexia nervosa; AN-REC, recovered anorexia nervosa; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; BED, binge eating disorder; BES, Basic Empathy Scale; BMI, body mass index; BN, bulimia nervosa; BPD, borderline personality disorder; EQ, Empathy Quotient; HC, healthy control; I7, Impulsiveness, Venturesomeness, and Empathy questionnaire; IRI, interpersonal reactivity index; NA, not applicable; NR, not reported; SD, standard deviation; SEQ, Socio-Emotional Questionnaire.
Groups were split into groups depending on age and EQ version used.
Only the PT subscale of the IRI was used.