Body Image Problems in Individuals with Type 1 Diabetes: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Despite type 1 diabetes' (T1D) potential influence on adolescents' physical development, the occurrence of body image problems of adolescents with diabetes remains unclear. No research synthesis has yet addressed this issue. This study aims to systematically evaluate the empirical evidence concerning body image in individuals with T1D in order to provide an overview of the existing literature. Using PRISMA methodology, 51 relevant studies that fulfilled the eligibility criteria were found, the majority of them (N = 48) involving youth. The findings varied across studies: 17 studies indicated that in youth with T1D, body dissatisfaction was common and that body concerns were generally greater in youth with T1D than in controls; nine studies did not find any differences in body image problems between participants with and without T1D; three studies described higher body satisfaction in youth with diabetes than in controls; and three studies reported mixed results. Body concerns in individuals with T1D were often found to be associated with negative medical and psychological functioning. The variability and limits in assessment tools across studies, the overrepresentation of female subjects, and the fact that most research in this field is based on cross-sectional data are stressed in the interpretation of these mixed findings. Future research directions that could improve the understanding of body image concerns and clinical implications are discussed.

Prevalencia, factores de riesgo y terapias psicológicas asociados a la diabulimia: revisión sistemática en adolescentes y adultos

“…La literatura científica de los últimos cinco años identifica como factores de riesgo asociados a la presencia de DB los siguientes: la presencia de IMC alto fue un factor de riesgo evidenciado por varios de los estudios (Akgül et al, 2018;Troncone et al, 2018;Merwin et al, 2018;Cardoso & Pimenta, 2019;Grigolon et al, 2019;Apergi et al, 2020;Karastogiannidou et al, 2021;Verbist & Condon, 2021;Troncone et al, 2021;Turan et al, 2022). Este resultado coincide con lo referido en la revisión sistemática de Racicka & Bryńska (2015), donde el IMC alto era uno de los factores de riesgo más presentes alrededor de los trastornos alimentarios en pacientes con diabetes tipo 1.…”

“…A su vez, otro factor identificado fue la insatisfacción con respecto a la imagen corporal (Falcão & Francisco, 2017;Troncone et al, 2018;Cardoso & Pimenta, 2019;Thomas et al, 2020;Verbist & Condon, 2021;Troncone et al, 2021;Ribeiro et al, 2021;Zaremba et al, 2022). Con estos resultados se ratifica lo apuntado en investigaciones previas, como es el caso de Kinik et al (2017) o Candler et al (2018, quienes, a través de revisiones bibliográficas en periodos anteriores, también identificaron a la insatisfacción respecto a la imagen corporal, como factor asociado de la DB.…”

“…En la presente revisión bibliográfica, se constató que el 47% de los artículos, recomendaron iniciar terapias psicoeducativas posterior al diagnóstico (Gibbings et al, 2021;Smith et al, 2020;Costa et al, 2017;Grigolon et al, 2019;Ribeiro et al, 2021;Fritzen et al, 2021;Troncone et al, 2018;Troncone et al, 2021;Brewster et al, 2020;Verbist & Condon, 2021;Şahin-Bodur et al, 2021;Lica et al, 2021;Watt et al, 2022;Nilsson et al, 2020;Al Hourani et al, 2020). Estos resultados evidencian su importancia, ISSN: 2773-7330 Vol.…”

Examining health experiences and body dissatisfaction in two unique samples of patients with type 2 diabetes

“…Individuals with type 2 diabetes tend to be of elevated weight status (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases [NIDDK], n.d.), which is a common explanation for why individuals experience dissatisfaction with their bodies (e.g., Fallon et al, 2014; Weinberger et al, 2016). Experiencing body dissatisfaction is of particular concern for this population because it can be predictive of poor mental health (e.g., disordered eating behaviors (Bucchianeri and Neumark-Sztainer, 2014)) and metabolic control (Troncone et al, 2021), both of which have implications for adverse diabetes-related outcomes. Most of the research dedicated to examining body image and diabetes has focused on adolescents diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, given that adolescence and young adulthood are considered risk periods for the development of eating disorders (Winston, 2020).…”

“…Researchers identified preserving a positive body image as one of the six most common values that individuals with diabetes see as important in guiding their behaviors. Other research suggests that body dissatisfaction may lead to negative outcomes, such as poor psychosocial outcomes and worse metabolic control (McDonald et al, 2021; Troncone et al, 2021).…”