Associations of food addiction with metabolic control, medical complications and depression among patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Aims: Food addiction (FA) is conceptualized as a behavioral pattern that is similar in some ways to addictions to alcohol and other substances. This disorder has not been well studied among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). We aimed to analyze if there is any relationship between FA and clinical or psychological variables among patients with T2DM.

Methods: Three hundred patients with T2DM were analyzed cross-sectionally. Participants were evaluated for the presence of FA by completing the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 questionnaire.

Results: 29.3% of patients screened positive for FA. Patients with FA had a greater BMI (33.41 ± 7.5 vs. 31.6 ± 5.9 kg/m²; p = 0.04). HbA1c was higher among individuals with FA (7.9 ± 4.4 vs. 7.6 ± 1.4%, p = 0.008). The proportion of subjects with diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy was greater among patients with criteria for FA compared with patients without this condition (25% vs. 13.2%, 29.5% vs. 21.8% and 32% vs. 22.3%; p = 0.03, p = 0.05 and p = 0.05, respectively). The percentage of patients with FA with significant depressive symptoms was also greater (36.4% vs. 18.5%; p = 0.002).

Conclusions: The presence of FA among T2DM patients implied a worse glycaemic control. Microvascular complications and depressive symptoms were higher among these patients.

Keywords: Depression; Food addiction; Glycated hemoglobin; Microvascular complications; Type 2 diabetes.