Eating disorders in adolescent girls with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: a population-based case-control study.
In this study the prevalence of eating disorders in a population-based cohort of 89 female patients with type 1 diabetes, 14-18 y of age, was compared with that in age-matched healthy controls. Of all diabetic girls in the study area, 92% participated in the study. The majority were treated with multiple insulin injections and the mean HbA1c of the participants was 8.4%. On average, diabetic girls were 6.8 kg heavier than the controls. A two-stage design was used. The first consisted of a validated self-report questionnaire, the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Girls who had high scores were then interviewed about eating habits and mental health using a semistructured interview, the BAB-T (Assessment of Anorexia-Bulimia - Teenager version). No cases of anorexia or bulimia nervosa were found, but 15 diabetic patients (16.9%) compared with 2 control girls (2.2%), p<0.01, had disturbed eating behaviour according to the questionnaire. In 6 of these 15 diabetic girls an eating disorder was confirmed at the interview, mainly binge eating and self-induced vomiting. None of the control girls showed an eating disorder. Overweight diabetic girls scored higher on EDI than non-overweight diabetic girls (chi2 = 4.9; p = 0.038). No relationships were found between EDI scores and metabolic control (HbA1c), dose of insulin, frequency of hypoglycaemia or diabetic ketoacidosis.
Engström
I
I
Department of Paediatrics, Orebro Medical Centre Hospital, Sweden.
Kroon
M
M
Arvidsson
C G
CG
Segnestam
K
K
Snellman
K
K
Aman
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015995:Prevalence; D012649:Self Concept; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
D007328:Insulin