The role of childhood neurocognition in eating disorder state transitions: findings from the ABCD cohort
Abstract
Objective: Neurocognitive difficulties have been proposed to play a role in the development and progression of eating disorders (EDs). However, prospective evidence from general population samples is limited. This study examined whether childhood neurocognition predicted the development of threshold or sub-threshold ED over 6 years in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort. Method: We analysed data from 11,378 children aged 8 – 11 years from the ABCD Study. ED states were derived from parent-reported Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia data at baseline and annual follow-ups. Neurocognition was assessed with the NIH Toolbox Cognition battery at baseline. Multi-state models were used to estimate ED state transitions and the impact of childhood neurocognition. Results: Across the observation periods, the most probable state to stay in or transition to was the no ED state and the probability of transitioning from no ED to sub-threshold or threshold ED state was 0.5 – 1%. Better working memory performance was associated with a small but significantly lower probability of transitioning from sub-threshold ED to no ED. Better performance on the episodic memory task was associated with a small but significantly lower risk of transitioning from no ED to sub-threshold ED. Discussion: Childhood neurocognition showed limited influence on later ED state transitions in this general population sample. Working memory and episodic memory were the only cognitive domains associated with specific transitions, suggesting that these functions could be relevant to early ED risk and recovery and further investigation is warranted.
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BibTeX
@misc{leppanen2026role,
title = {{The role of childhood neurocognition in eating disorder state transitions: findings from the ABCD cohort}},
author = {Jenni Leppanen and Karina Allen and Marja Kaila-Vanhatalo and Kate Tchanturia and Ian Kelleher},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/jrx6y_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/jrx6y_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The role of childhood neurocognition in eating disorder state transitions: findings from the ABCD cohort
AU - Jenni Leppanen
AU - Karina Allen
AU - Marja Kaila-Vanhatalo
AU - Kate Tchanturia
AU - Ian Kelleher
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/jrx6y_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/jrx6y_v1/
AB - Objective: Neurocognitive difficulties have been proposed to play a role in the development and progression of eating disorders (EDs). However, prospective evidence from general population samples is limited. This study examined whether childhood neurocognition predicted the development of threshold or sub-threshold ED over 6 years in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort. Method: We analysed data from 11,378 children aged 8 – 11 years from the ABCD Study. ED states were derived from parent-reported Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia data at baseline and annual follow-ups. Neurocognition was assessed with the NIH Toolbox Cognition battery at baseline. Multi-state models were used to estimate ED state transitions and the impact of childhood neurocognition. Results: Across the observation periods, the most probable state to stay in or transition to was the no ED state and the probability of transitioning from no ED to sub-threshold or threshold ED state was 0.5 – 1%. Better working memory performance was associated with a small but significantly lower probability of transitioning from sub-threshold ED to no ED. Better performance on the episodic memory task was associated with a small but significantly lower risk of transitioning from no ED to sub-threshold ED. Discussion: Childhood neurocognition showed limited influence on later ED state transitions in this general population sample. Working memory and episodic memory were the only cognitive domains associated with specific transitions, suggesting that these functions could be relevant to early ED risk and recovery and further investigation is warranted.
ER -