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Glucose variability: A physiological correlate of eating disorder behaviors among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Glucose variability: A physiological correlate of eating disorder behaviors among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders

Emily K Presseller, Anna Gabrielle G Patarinski, Fengqing Zhang, Kathleen A Page, Paakhi Srivastava, Stephanie M Manasse and Adrienne S Juarascio
The International journal of eating disorders
28 Oct 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23838
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11256202View
Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified),  Open

Abstract

OBJECTIVESElevated glucose variability may be one mechanism that increases risk for significant psychological and physiological health conditions among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders (B-EDs), given the impact of eating disorder (ED) behaviors on blood glucose levels. This study aimed to characterize glucose variability among individuals with B-EDs compared with age-matched, sex-matched, and body mass index-matched controls, and investigate the association between frequency of ED behaviors and glucose variability. METHODSParticipants were 52 individuals with B-EDs and 22 controls who wore continuous glucose monitors to measure blood glucose levels and completed ecological momentary assessment surveys to measure ED behaviors for 1 week. Independent samples t-tests compared individuals with B-EDs and controls and multiple linear regression models examined the association between ED behaviors and glucose variability. RESULTSIndividuals with B-EDs demonstrated numerically higher glucose variability than controls (t = 1.42, p = .08, d = 0.43), although this difference was not statistically significant. When controlling for covariates, frequency of ED behaviors was significantly, positively associated with glucose variability (t = 3.17, p = .003) with medium effect size (f2 = 0.25). Post hoc analyses indicated that binge eating frequency was significantly associated with glucose variability, while episodes of 5+ hours without eating were not. DISCUSSIONGlucose variability among individuals with B-EDs appears to be positively associated with engagement in ED behaviors, particularly binge eating. Glucose variability may be an important mechanism by which adverse health outcomes occur at elevated rates in B-EDs and warrants future study. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCEThis study suggests that some individuals with binge ED and bulimia nervosa may experience elevated glucose variability, a physiological symptom that is linked to a number of adverse health consequences. The degree of elevation in glucose variability is positive associated with frequency of eating disorder behaviors, especially binge eating.

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6 Record Views
8 citations in Web of Science
6 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#5 Gender Equality

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Nutrition & Dietetics
Psychiatry
Psychology
Psychology, Clinical
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