[Prevalence of Disturbed Eating Behavior in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes: Assessment and Comparison to Healthy Peers Results of a Multicenter Questionnaire based Study]
INTRODUCTION Published data on prevalence of disturbed eating behavior in youth with type 1 diabetes are heterogeneous. This study assesses the prevalence rate of disturbed eating behavior in a representative German sample of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The prevalence rate is compared to the one published for a national sample of healthy peers. Furthermore prospects as well as limits of a generic screening tool used to identify disturbed eating behavior are compared to those of a diabetes specific screening tool. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 246 children and adolescents (age: 11 19 years) with type 1 diabetes, from 6 pediatric diabetes centers in Germany, completed the generic SCOFF questionnaire and the diabetes specific Diabetes Eating Problem Survey Revised (DEPS R) to assess their eating behavior. Prevalence data were compared to representative data from a nationwide survey in Germany (KiGGS study) RESULTS A total of 16.3% of the children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes scored above the SCOFF cut off 2) (24.2% of the girls and 8.9% of the boys) The percentages in the healthy controls were 28.9% for girls and 15.2% for boys. Compared to this the prevalence of disturbed eating behavior was lower in the diabetes group (p=0.017 and p<0.001) According to the diabetes specific DEPS R 11.2% of the boys and 13.2% of the girls with type 1 diabetes practiced insulin purging. The association between SCOFF scores and the items referring to insulin purging in DEPS R, was stronger for girls than for boys (r=0.437 vs. r=0.144) Among the young people with type 1 diabetes DEPS R scores showed stronger associations to the quality of metabolic control (HbA1c) than the SCOFF (boys: r=0.357 vs. r=0.217 and girls: r=0.368 vs. r=0.131) DISCUSSION Children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes are not more frequently affected by disturbed eating behavior than their healthy peers. Particularly boys with type 1 diabetes practicing insulin purging, are not reliably detected by a generic screening tool. CONCLUSION As part of long term care a diabetes specific screening tool should be used to identify adolescents with type 1 diabetes and disturbed eating behavior more reliably.
Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, medizinische Psychologie