Interbed - The Internet and Binge Eating Disorder Study

The Internet and Binge Eating Disorder (INTERBED) study is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, noninferiority clinical trial (treatment duration, 4 months; follow-ups, 6 months and 1.5 years). A volunteer sample of 178 adult outpatients with full or subsyndromal BED were recruited from 7 university-based outpatient clinics from Germany and Switzerland.Participants received 20 individual face-to-face CBT sessions of 50 minutes each or sequentially completed 11 internet modules and had weekly email contacts.

The objective is to evaluate the efficacy of internet-based guided self-help (GSH-I) compared with traditional, individual face-to-face CBT.

NetUnion contributed the 11 Internet based modules which were based on a based Guided Self Help program developed and evaluation in previous European Research projects SALUT and INTACT.

Face-to-face CBT leads to quicker and greater reductions in the number of OBE days, abstinence rates, and eating disorder psychopathologic findings and may be a better initial treatment option than GSH-I. Internet-based guided self-help remains a viable, slower-acting, low-threshold treatment alternative compared with CBT for adults with BED. See the link to the published article on this page for further information.

The study ran from August 1, 2010, through December 31, 2011; final follow-up assessment was in April 2014. Data analysis was performed from November 30, 2014, to May 27, 2015.

Partner list

  1. Martina de Zwaan MD, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Klinik für Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie, Germany
  2. Stephan Herpertz, MD, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LWL-University, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
  3. Stephan Zipfel, MD, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
  4. Jennifer Svaldi, PhD, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
  5. Hans-Christoph Friederich, MD, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
  6. Dr. Anja Hilbert, Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany .
  7. Carmen Schade-Brittinger, PhD, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
  8. Andreas Mayr, PhD, Department of Medical Informatics, Biometry, and Epidemiology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
  9. Tony Lam, MBA, NetUnion SARL, Lausanne, Switzerland

Links

Jama psychiatry publication