Young people with diabetes often struggle with diet in their teens. A new systematic review looks at how common problems with eating are in adolescents with type 1 diabetes, in comparison with their non-diabetic peers.
Clinical question:
In young adults with type 1 diabetes, what is the prevalence of eating problems?
The review differentiated between eating disorders, such a anorexia, and problems with eating. The review also looked at the relation between glycaemic control and problematic eating.
The evidence:
The reviewers found 13 studies reporting the prevalence of eating problems. When they pooled the data from these studies they concluded:
Eating problems and eating disorders were more common in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes compared with peers and both were associated with poorer glycaemic control.
Eating disorders had a prevalence of 7% among type 1 diabetics, compared with 2.8% in the general population. The prevalence of eating problems was 39.3% vs 32.5%. These patterns were consistent across other analyses.
Appraisal hints
- Was the literature search comprehensive enough?
- Were the studies assessed as being of high quality?
- How were the comparisons made against the non-diabetic population?
- Was follow-up long and complete enough?
- Did they use equivalent definitions of disordered eating in the different studies?
- Were the patient populations similar?
- Was there much heterogeneity between the studies in terms of the rates of disordered eating?
Reference:
Young V, Eiser C, Johnson B, Brierley S, Epton T, Elliott J, Heller S. Eating problems in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Diabet Med. 2012 Aug 22. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2012.03771.x.