POSE-D: Guided self-help for eating disorders in T2 diabetes

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    POSE-D: Providing Online guided Self-help for Eating disorders in adults with type 2 Diabetes: a pilot study

  • IRAS ID

    296694

  • Contact name

    Gemma Traviss-Turner

  • Contact email

    g.traviss@leeds.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Leeds

  • ISRCTN Number

    ISRCTN12377526

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    DIABETES UK GRANT REFERENCE, 19/0006125

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 1 months, 31 days

  • Research summary

    Research Summary:
    Binge eating has been identified as a significant problem in people with Type 2 diabetes. There are currently no psychological treatments for binge eating that are tailored to the needs of this group.

    In the first work package of the current project, the research group adapted an existing evidence-based brief psychological treatment for eating disorders (Working to Overcome Eating Difficulties) through co-design with patients and healthcare professionals, to make it suitable for adults with type 2 diabetes.

    The original treatment was developed by the research team and has been shown to be helpful for binge eating and is now recommended in the national guidelines for eating disorders. The treatment will be delivered online so will be widely accessible and we anticipate highly cost-effective. The research is important because it speaks to the national research priorities of both Diabetes UK (Wylie, Shah et al. 2019) and the James Lind Alliance.

    Our proposed research is to pilot the refined treatment with a small group of people (n=30) with type 2 diabetes and to conduct follow-up interviews about their experience. This research has the potential as a highly efficient way of filling the identified gaps in knowledge and provision.

    Lay summary of study results:
    Background An estimated 4 million people in the UK live with Type 2 diabetes and 1 in 4 experience Binge Eating Disorder, which equates to up to a million people in the UK.
    People who binge eat are more likely to have obesity, higher blood sugar levels, higher blood pressure, poorer mental wellbeing and they find it more difficult to manage their weight.
    Binge eating is also associated with feelings of shame and guilt and therefore people find it difficult to seek help. So what can we do?

    Our Programme
    A group of researchers from University of Leeds and local hospitals conducted the POSE-D study - a 2 year research study funded by Diabetes UK. This aimed to adapt and evaluate an existing treatment for eating disorders so that it can be used online and tailored to the needs of people with Type 2 Diabetes.

    The programme is an online guided self-help intervention. It is made up of 7 sections which people complete over a 12 week period with support sessions from a trained Guide.

    Results
    In the study 22 people received the adapted guided self-help programme. Before the programme 90% of participants reported binge eating. At the end participants showed a significant reduction in binge eating which continued to improve further after the programme with no one meeting the criteria for binge eating. These changes were accompanied by improvements in depression and anxiety and a small change in other eating disorder symptoms. There was no change in weight.

    When we spoke to participants they also reported making better lifestyle choices, eating more mindfully and having increased self-confidence.

    What next?
    Guided Self-help is a promising approach to improving binge eating, diabetes management and mental wellbeing, however we need to test it again with a larger group of people to see how effective it is.

  • REC name

    Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    22/YH/0016

  • Date of REC Opinion

    22 Feb 2022

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion