Type 1 diabetes with eating disorder- barriers to safe managment
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the barriers to a safe diabetes management in people with type 1 diabetes and eating disorders through better understanding of the psychological and physiological triggers leading to insulin omission.
IRAS ID
231596
Contact name
Marietta Anna Stadler
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
This project aims to identify common psychological and physiological processes in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and eating disorders (ED) using a mixed methods study. From this, interventions that target unhelpful thoughts, feelings and behaviours may be developed in order to prevent diabetes complications and deaths.
People with Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) must adhere to multiple self-care roles and tasks (multiple daily insulin injections, regular blood glucose monitoring, adjustment of insulin dose according to physical activity, stress and food intake) in order to achieve optimal glycaemic control. Eating disorders (such as bulimia nervosa-BN and anorexia nervosa- AN) are amongst the most common mental health problems in T1DM and are 2.4-fold more common in young adults with T1DM than in people without diabetes. A diabetes-specific dangerous purging behaviour is insulin-omission with the intention to lose weight, leading to acute and chronic complications and therefore 3-fold higher mortality rates. To date, no effective intervention for improving glycaemic control has been described for this vulnerable patient group.
The hypothesis that greater glycaemic variability is linked to disordered eating behaviour and insulin omission will be tested in a controlled study comparing people with T1DM with bulimia nervosa with T1DM without ED, using mobile phone based self-observation app tools and blinded continuous glucose monitoring devices for a week.
The qualitative semi-structured interview study will explore unhelpful psychological processes around their diabetes management, which may represent barriers to a safe diabetes therapy, as well as strategies for recovery people T1DM with ED may have developed.REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EE/0490
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jan 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion