Abstract
Although the causes of eating disorders remain unclear, epidemiological evidence suggests that peripubertal changes in body shape and weight predispose young women to develop unhealthy eating attitudes. A psychiatric diagnosis of an eating disorder can be made in up to 10% of young women with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 1 diabetes). Eating disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, pose a particularly serious risk to health in young diabetic people. Several features associated with type 1 diabetes and its treatment, such as weight gain, dietary restraint and food preoccupation, may predispose young diabetic women to develop a clinical or subclinical eating disorder. The coexistance of these conditions could lead to poor metabolic control and an increased risk of microvascular complications.
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Received: 25 May 1998 / Accepted in revised form: 23 April 1999
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Verrotti, A., Catino, M., De Luca, F. et al. Eating disorders in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Acta Diabetol 36, 21–25 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s005920050140
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s005920050140