Abstract
Aims
To determine the prevalence of eating disorders (ED) in a cohort of patients with
type 2 diabetes (T2DM), to identify the more predominant forms of ED, and to clarify
if ED is associated with impaired metabolic control.
Methods
A cohort of 517 patients with T2DM aged≥40 years and a control cohort of 304 patients
without diabetes, age and gender matched, were enrolled from 3 primary care centres.
All subjects completed the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns-Revised (QEWP-R),
followed by a structured interview (EDE 17th version).
Results
The overall prevalence of ED in patients with T2DM and control cohorts was 32.5% and
19.7%, respectively (p<0.001). The frequency of ED in the patients with T2DM cohort
was significantly higher in male than in female: 61.9% vs. 38.1% of the ED, respectively
(p<0.001). The most prevalent form was unspecified feeding or eating disorder, mainly
uncontrolled picking at food in 24.6% of subjects, which is significantly more prevalent
in the patients with T2DM cohort than in controls, 24.6% vs. 14.5% (p<0.001). Mean
HbA1c was 7.15%±1.1% (55 mmol/mol, 159 mg/dL) and 6.84%±1.1% (51 mmol/mol,150 mg/dL) in
patients with T2DM with ED and without ED, respectively (p=0.047).
Conclusions
ED have a high prevalence in patients with T2DM, and the coexistence of type 2 diabetes
and ED significantly affects metabolic control in these patients.
Key words
diabetes - alimentation - obesity
