Prevalence of disordered eating in adults with type 1 diabetes in an Australian metropolitan hospital.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to establish the prevalence of disordered eating behaviours and establish its identifiable factors in adults with T1D attending a large tertiary hospital service. In this cross-sectional study, 199 participants with TID, aged 18-65years, completed the revised Diabetes Eating Problem Survey-Revised (DEPS-R). Additional demographic and medical data obtained included age, sex, BMI, HbA1C, duration of diabetes and number of hospital admissions within 12months (including diabetic ketoacidosis). A DEPS-R score of ≥20, indicative of disordered eating behaviour, was evident in 31% of participants. A DEPS-R score of ≥20 was associated with being female (39% females vs. 23.3% males; p=.016) and a high HbA1c (8.9% [7.8-10.2] vs. 8.0% [7.3-8.7], median [IQR], p<.001). The prevalence of disordered eating behaviours increased significantly with BMI, from 21.3% in the healthy BMI group (18.5-24.9kg/m2 ) to 37.1% in the group with BMI>25kg/m2 (p=.02). A DEPS-R score of ≥20 was often driven by questions related to a desire to lose weight, meal patterns and glycaemic control. While these behaviours may be attributed to desirable self-management behaviours for adults with T1D, the DEPS-R is still a useful tool to identify patients with potential disordered eating behaviours and the need for dietetic intervention.