In a new study from Anglia Ruskin University, researchers found that people with diabetes who have eating disorders are more likely to develop a common eye disease: diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetes is characterized by high concentrations of glucose in the blood, which can, in turn, lead to tissue damage in several parts of the body including the heart, feet, and eyes.
The most common eye disease among people with diabetes is retinopathy, where microvascular changes in the retina can result in vision impairment and even blindness.
The risk of diabetic retinopathy affects people with all types of diabetes.
In the current study, the team combined data from several studies, with a total of more than 1,100 participants.
They found that people with diabetes who were assessed as having an eating disorder were 2.94 times more likely to develop diabetic retinopathy, compared to people with diabetes who did not have an eating disorder.
However, researchers did not find a statistically significant link between binge eating disorder, a condition where a person frequently consumes a large amount of food over a short period of time, and diabetic retinopathy.
Eating disorders considered in the study included anorexia nervosa, a condition where people try and keep their weight as low as possible by reducing their food intake or exercising too much, and bulimia nervosa, where a person attempts to purge food from the body either by vomiting or using laxatives.
As lead author Mike Trott says, there is a significant positive association between pathological eating disorders and the risk of diabetic retinopathy.
The most likely reason is poor control of blood sugar levels due to inconsistent food intake or people deliberately not taking insulin as a weight management tactic.
Insulin allows the glucose in the bloodstream to be converted to energy and subsequently used usefully by the body.
The findings suggest that doctors should pay special attention to eating behaviors for people with diabetes.
Any abnormal eating behavior should be addressed swiftly to reduce the risk of diabetic retinopathy.
If you care about type 2 diabetes, please read studies about weight training that could reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, and this diet can lower risk of type 2 diabetes and help manage blood sugar.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about 4 things to know diabetes and your eyes, and results showing scientists find a cure for type 2 diabetes.
The study was conducted by Mike Trott et al., and published in the Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders.
