Scientists have reported symptoms of compulsive overeating in people with diabetes

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark found signs of probable compulsive overeating in 2.9% of adults with type 2 diabetes. Another 3.1% of participants reported symptoms that did not meet all the criteria used in the study for the disorder. How to recognize the loss of control over food and why it is important to pay attention to it in diabetes — in the Izvestia article.

What is compulsive overeating?

Compulsive overeating, which in English literature is referred to by the abbreviation BED, refers to eating disorders. It is manifested by recurring episodes during which a person eats an unusually large amount of food and feels that he cannot stop or control what is happening.

Such episodes may be accompanied by shame, guilt, and marked emotional discomfort. The assessment of the condition takes into account not only the amount of food eaten, but also loss of control, frequency of episodes and related experiences.

Eating disorders require medical attention. However, their manifestations are often mistaken for a lack of discipline, which is why psychological difficulties can go unnoticed against the background of the underlying disease.

How scientists have studied eating behavior in diabetes

The authors analyzed data from 2,459 adults with type 2 diabetes from the Danish DD2 research cohort. The participants completed a nine-point online questionnaire based on the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5 and ICD-11.

Three groups were identified based on the responses. The category of probable disorder included people who reported episodes of overeating with loss of control at least once a week and experienced pronounced emotional discomfort about it.

Scientists have pointed to the high risk of RPP when receiving a phone at an early age.

Participants with subclinical symptoms reported the same frequent episodes, but did not experience significant distress. The rest did not meet the criteria of these two groups. The survey results were compared with medical registers that contained information about tests, concomitant diseases, and medications taken. At the same time, a positive result of the questionnaire indicated a probable disorder and did not replace a clinical diagnosis.

Who had the symptoms more often?

Signs of probable compulsive overeating were found in 72 people — 2.9% of the sample. Another 76 participants, or 3.1%, reported subclinical symptoms. In total, both groups accounted for about 6% of the surveyed.

When these groups were analyzed together, symptoms were more common in women and people with severe obesity. The prevalence was 54% higher in women than in men. Among the participants with a body mass index of 35 kg/m, the indicator was more than 11 times higher than the value for people with normal body weight.

The last estimate was accompanied by a wide range of statistical uncertainty. It indicates a pronounced association in the sample studied, but does not accurately predict the likelihood of a disorder in a particular person.

The age of diabetes detection also differed. In the group with probable compulsive overeating, the median age of diagnosis was 51.8 years, and among participants without corresponding symptoms — 59.5 years. By itself, this comparison does not prove that overeating caused the earlier development of diabetes.

What did the data on the psychological state show?

Participants with symptoms of overeating reported lower emotional well-being. Depression, anxiety, and taking antidepressants were also more common in the likely disorder group.

However, in statistical analysis, the associations with depression, anxiety, and taking antidepressants remained uncertain. Therefore, it is impossible to draw a conclusion about the proven dependence between these states based on the work.

Scientists have dispelled the myth of eating disorders

The researchers also found no clear association between the symptoms of overeating and the level of glycated hemoglobin HbA1c, an indicator used to assess blood glucose control. Thus, in this sample, psychological difficulties were not accompanied by unambiguously worse indicators of diabetes control.

Why do the authors suggest paying more attention to the symptoms

The work was simultaneous: it allowed us to identify combinations of signs, but not to establish which condition occurred earlier and what caused the other. In addition, the participants described their eating behavior on their own, so it is impossible to exclude errors in responses or underestimation of symptoms.

The authors believe that when monitoring people with diabetes, it is important to consider recurring episodes of loss of control over food and related experiences.

Further work should determine how best to identify such symptoms in daily practice and whether specialized care helps to improve the psychological state and outcomes of diabetes treatment.