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Thesis
Glucose variability as a physiological correlate of eating disorder behaviors among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Feb 2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001163
Abstract
Binge-spectrum eating disorders, including bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, are serious psychiatric illnesses associated with substantial negative physical and psychological health outcomes. One pathway through which eating disorder behaviors may increase risk for these adverse health outcomes is through their impact on blood glucose levels. Previous literature has demonstrated that eating disorder behaviors such as binge eating, self-induced vomiting, and excessive exercise, contribute to larger-than-typical fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders may experience elevated glucose variability (the degree to which an individual's blood glucose levels vary over a unit of time) compared to healthy controls due to their recurrent engagement in eating disorder behaviors. Research in healthy populations has identified elevated glucose variability as a risk factor for many adverse health outcomes common among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders, including cardiovascular consequences, development of diabetes, depressed mood, and cognitive deficits. Given the likely link between eating disorder behaviors and elevated glucose variability and the risk that elevated glucose variability may confer for these adverse outcomes, this thesis compared glucose variability among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders to glucose variability among age-, sex-, and BMI-matched healthy controls and examined the contributions of a number of factors (i.e., total frequency of eating disorder behaviors, pattern of specific eating disorder behaviors, macronutrient content of binge eating episodes, and duration of illness) to glucose variability among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders. The study also examined the link between glucose variability and psychosocial variables, including depression symptoms and global eating pathology, in this population. The present study found preliminary evidence that glucose variability may be elevated among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders relative to healthy controls. Engagement in eating disorder behaviors and macronutrient content of binge eating episodes appear to contribute to elevated glucose variability within this population. However, the present study failed to find an association between glucose variability and depression or global eating pathology among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders. Glucose variability may be a physiological correlate of eating disorder behaviors among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders that contributes to risk for physical health consequences in this population. Future research should examine longitudinal associations between glucose variability and medical consequences.
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Details
- Title
- Glucose variability as a physiological correlate of eating disorder behaviors among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders
- Creators
- Emily Kelley Presseller
- Contributors
- Adrienne S. Juarascio (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- 114 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991017491293504721