LAUSR

AIMS To determine 1) the prevalence of symptoms of overeating (OE), subclinical binge eating (SBE) and clinical binge eating (CBE), in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D), and 2) their associations with quality of life (QoL), anxiety, depression, HbA1c, and body mass index standard deviation score (BMISDS). METHODS In total 506 adolescents (age 12-17 years; mean 14.7 years; girls 49%) from the Danish Registry for Diabetes in Childhood and Adolescence (DanDiabKids) were included. Participants completed questionnaires on Eating Disorders, QoL, and emotional difficulties. A blood sample was sent for HbA1c determination. BMISDS was determined from the DanDiabKids data. RESULTS Prevalence rates of OE, SBE, and CBE were 8.4%, 18% and 7.9% respectively. Youth with CBE symptoms scored lowest on generic and diabetes specific QoL, highest on anxiety and depression symptoms, and had a higher HbA1c. Youth with CBE had borderline increased BMISDS. CONCLUSIONS In a Danish national survey of adolescents with T1D, approximately one-third of participants had overeating or binge eating symptoms, comparable with the numbers in a U.S T2D population. Binge eating symptoms associated positively with lower QoL, higher depression scores, higher anxiety scores, and poorer clinical outcomes. Binge eating symptoms were markers for poor mental and somatic health.