The FODRAT study (FOod addiction, DRugs, Alcohol and Tobacco): first data on food addiction prevalence among patients with addiction to drugs, tobacco and alcohol

Objectives The main focus of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of food addiction (FA) in a population of 575 subjects, all affected by drugs, alcohol and/or tobacco addiction. Methods Patients were enrolled in Addiction Service Centers and 25 items YFAS questionnaire was administered. Prevalence of FA was studied among patients who already have an addiction and then this prevalence was compared between groups of abusers (by type of substance), comparing mono abusers with polyabusers, as well as regressions by age, BMI, sex, through multiple regression analysis. Results Prevalence of FA in the sample is 20.17%. Risk of FA increases with the number of substances used (polyabuse). Results show a positive correlation, in addicted people, between BMI values and FA, with significant values (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.04–1.13; p = 0.006). Age is inversely correlated with FA (OR 0.97; 95% CI 0.95–0.99; p = 0.01). Female sex is positively associated (OR 2.60; 95% CI 1.59–4.27, p = 0.000). No significant association appears with any substance, even if the highest prevalence is recorded among cannabis users (31.03%), and heroin (21.07%), followed by cocaine (18.53%), alcohol (14.49%) and tobacco (11.61%). A comparison between the FA prevalence in our study and that from another study in the Italian general population (11%) shows a significant difference ( p