Prediction of binge-eating disorder based on symptoms of depression, emotion regulation, and psychological flexibility in women with type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes affects more than 90% of diabetic patients, which in addition to physical complications, is associated with psychological problems, such as binge-eating disorder. Diagnosing and treating binge-eating disorder can improve many comorbidities and type 2 diabetes. Therefore, this study aims to predict binge-eating disorder in women with type 2 diabetes based on symptoms of depression, emotion regulation, and psychological flexibility.

The present descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 102 people with type 2 diabetes through the cooperation of centers related to diabetes and using social media in a targeted manner. Research tools included the Gormally et al. (1982) binge-eating, the Beck et al. (1996) depression, the Bond et al. (2011) acceptance and the practice, and Graz and Roemer (2004) difficulty in regulation of emotion questionnaires. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22 using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression.

The results show that the symptoms of depression, emotion regulation, and psychological flexibility could significantly (p <0.001) predict binge-eating disorder. Among the predictor variables, depression symptoms with a prediction of 33% of the variance of binge-eating disorder, was the best predictor of the disorder in people with type 2 diabetes (p <0.001).

It can be concluded that early detection and treatment of depression symptoms in people with type 2 diabetes, can reduce binge-eating disorder in these people.