Objective: This study aimed to compare levels of alexithymia, psychological problems, emotion regulation difficulties, and disordered eating behaviors between adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) and healthy controls and to examine the relationship among these factors.
Methods: The study was conducted at Ankara Bilkent City Hospital and included 115 adolescents aged 12–18 years, comprising 64 adolescents with T1D and 51 healthy controls. All participants completed the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children (AQC), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). Adolescents with diabetes were additionally assessed using the Diabetes Eating Problem Survey–Revised (DEPS-R), and their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels from the previous six months were recorded.
Results: No differences were found between adolescents with T1D and healthy controls in total scores on the AQC, DERS, SDQ, and EDE-Q. Female participants and adolescents with psychiatric disorders had higher DEPS-R score. DEPS-R scores were positively correlated with total SDQ, DERS, and AQC scores, as well as body mass index (BMI), and negatively correlated with maternal education level. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that SDQ total difficulties scores and BMI were associated with higher DEPS-R scores.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that disordered eating behaviors in adolescents with T1D may be associated with psychological difficulties and higher BMI. Addressing these factors is important in the clinical management of adolescents with diabetes.