Evaluation of eating disorders and their association with glycemic control and metabolic parameters in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract Background There is little data on the prevalence and effects of eating disorders in patients with T2DM. Aims To evaluate the presence of eating disorders (ED) and their association with glycemic control and metabolic parameters in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in the endocrinology outpatient unit of our tertiary care centre between January 2017 to December 2018. Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and Binge Eating Scale (BES) questionnaires were used to screen for ED in adults with T2DM (group 1) and controls without T2DM (group 2). Cut off scores ≥18 on BES was considered as a positive screen for Binge eating disorder in participants with and without T2DM. A score of ≥30 on EAT-26 was defined as abnormal for participants with T2DM and ≥20 for those without T2DM. Formal psychiatric assessment was done to diagnose ED in those who screened positive on the basis of scores on BES or EAT-26 or both. Demographic, anthropometric and relevant medical details like duration of treatment, glycemic control, complications were recorded. Results A total of 512 individuals (256 in each group) participated in this study. Out of these, 10.9% of individuals with T2DM and 14.1% of those without T2DM screened positive for ED, with no significant difference in the two groups. After a detailed psychiatric assessment, two patients (0.8%) in each group were confirmed to have ED. Participants with T2DM who were on thiazolidinediones had higher odds (2.2) of screening positive for an ED.(p = 0.03). Conclusions Our study reveals that eating disorders are not very common in our clinical population of T2DM, and the prevalence is comparable to BMI matched individuals without T2DM. The prevalence rates of eating disorders are lower (in both controls and patients with T2DM) than those reported from developed western countries.