Table 2.

Main characteristics of included studies, reported in alphabetical order (surname of the first author).

Author, Year [Ref]	County	Study Period	Study Design	Main Characteristics of the Sample	Sample Size (% of F); Age as Mean ± SD	Attrition	Altered Food Behavior	Tool Used to Diagnose Altered Food Behavior	Validated Diagnostic Tool	n (or %) of Subjects with Food Addiction	Main Results	Funds	CoI
Aslan et al., 2020 [12]	Turkey	May 2018 and March 2019	Ca–Co	Inpatient adult women diagnosed with breast cancer vs. cancer-free adult women enrolled in a primary health center	Ca: 238; 49.0 ± 9.8 y Co: 164; 47.6 ± 12.5 y	0	Orthorexia nervosa	ORTO-15	yes	Ca: 23.3% Co: 6.7%	Risk of orthorexia was higher for those with a higher educational level (university degree), receiving care support, presence of a chronic disease other than cancer, and a diet that includes eating organic foods.	ns	no
Bobonis Babilonia et al., 2020 [39]	USA	ns	Case report	Elite athletes with acute lymphoblastic leukemia	30 y (sex not specified)	na	Orthorexia nervosa	ORTO-15	yes	na	The desire to eat “healthy” (with juicing and a daily meal) reported as “normal” led to weight loss, malnutrition, interpersonal and sports-related impairments.	ns	no
Cohen et al., 2018 [40]	USA	October 2015 and April 2017	RCT assessing the role of KD vs. ACS on physical and mental health, including food cravings	Women diagnosed with ovarian or endometrial cancer	45; 60.2 (31–79 y)	28	Food craving	FCI	yes	na (mean values were reported)	At 12 weeks after the intervention, the KD group reported less frequent cravings for starchy foods and fast food than the ACS group. The KD group reported less frequent cravings for starchy foods, sweets, fast food, and overall cravings at 12 weeks when compared to baseline. No within-group differences for the ACS group.	yes	no
Dogansen et al., 2019 [41]	Turkey (11 tertiary referral centers)	ns	Multicenter CS	Adult patients with prolactinoma receiving DA for at least three months	308 (70.1% F); 36 ± 12 y	0	Compulsive eating	QUIP	yes	9 (2.9% all F)	A higher QUIP score was associated with smoking, alcohol consumption, a gambling history, and a higher nadir prolactin level.	no	no
Martinkova et al., 2011 [14]	Slovakia	January–December, 2009	CS	Inpatient adults with pituitary adenomas who were taking DA	20 (50% F); 41.3 ± 11.0 y	0	Compulsive eating	MIDI	yes, based on DSM-IV criteria	1 (5% M)	Compulsive eating, especially at night, which resulted in a weight gain of 20 kg in two years. High prolactin level (16,193 ng/mL)	ns	ns
Shams-White et al., 2016 [13]	USA	ns	Co (12-month FU)	Young survivors of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoma	22 (32% F); 11.7 (4.7–24.9) y		Food craving	FCI	yes	na (mean values were reported)	Patients diagnosed at an older age had more frequent cravings overall and for each of the subscales: fast food, sweets, carbohydrates, and fats.	yes	no
Vance, Campbell et al., 2017 [42]	Canada	ns	CS	Women with stage I–IIIA breast cancer within 12 months of completing chemotherapy treatment	28 (100%); 48.9 ± 8.5	0	Food craving	Semi-structured qualitative interview	ns	6 (50%) women who gained weight during treatment	Almost half the women who gained weight during treatments recalled that they ate more frequently and preferred starchy, carbohydrate-rich foods and others (ice cream, chocolate milk, citrus fruits, and cheese).	yes	no

ACS: American Cancer Society diet; Ca-Co: case–control study; C: cohort study; CoI: conflict of interest; CS: cross-sectional study; DA: dopamine agonists; DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition; F: female; FCI: Food Cravings Inventory; FU: follow-up; M: male; MIDI: Minnesota Impulse Disorder Interview; n: number; na: not available; ns: not specified; ORTO-15: Orthorexia Nervosa scale; QUIP: Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson’s disease form; RCT: randomized clinical trial SD: standard deviation; USA: United States of America; y: years.