Comparison of eating disorders and eating behaviors in adults with and without type 2 diabetes prior to bariatric surgery

Background Eating disorders (ED) are group of psychological disorders that significantly impair physical health and psychosocial function. ED consists wide range of morbidity such as loss of eating control, binge eating disorder (BED), night eating syndrome, and bulimia nervosa. Eating behavior is a wide range term that includes food choices, eating patterns, eating problems. In this study, we compared eating disorders and eating behaviors in adults with and without type 2 diabetes prior to bariatric surgery. Methods 284 participants with class III obesity were included in the single center study. Each case (patients with type 2 diabetes) and control (patients without type 2 diabetes) groups consists 142 patients. Loss of eating control, BED and Bulimia nervosa, Night eating syndrome and eating behaviors and psychosocial factors were screened with standard questionnaires. SPSS version 20 was used for statistical analysis. A P-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results There was a significant difference between participants with and without type 2 diabetes in case of BED (76.3% vs. 47.3%, P = 0.001). The logistic regression model has shown that participants without type 2 diabetes had lower odds of exhibiting BED (OR = 0.28, 95% CI 0.142-0.552). Among participants without type 2 diabetes, men had 65% high odds of BED (OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.13-2.53) in compare with women. Participants with and without type 2 diabetes with high school degree (OR = 5.54, 95% CI 2.46-9.45, P = 0.0001 and OR = 6.52, 95% CI 3.15-10.56, respectively) and moderate depression level (OR = 2.03, 95% CI 0.98-3.95 and OR = 3.12, 95% CI 2.12-4.56, P = 0.0001) had higher odds of BED. Conclusion These results probably indicate that people with Class III obesity are more cautious about their diet for blood glucose control if they have type 2 diabetes. Future studies are recommended to follow up these patients after surgery to compare weight loss and blood sugar control in patients with and without type 2 diabetes. Plain English summary Present study aimed to comparison of eating disorders and eating behaviors in adults with and without Type 2 diabetes prior to bariatric surgery. 284 patients with class III obesity were enrolled in the study. Half of them had type 2 diabetes. Several questionnaires were completed by patients to assess the eating disorders and eating behaviors. Results of our study showed that patients without diabetes with class III obesity had lower chance for BED and among them; men were 65% more likely than women to have binge eating disorder. Future studies are recommended to follow up these patients after surgery to compare weight loss and blood sugar control in patients with and without type 2 diabetes.