BackgroundDisordered eating behaviours (DEBs) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are associated with an increased risk of complications and mortality. The Diabetes Eating Problem Survey-Revised (DEPS-R) was developed to screen for DEBs in T1DM patients. The objectives of this study were to develop a traditional Chinese version DEPS-R (electronic version) and to measure the prevalence of DEBs in a local population sample.MethodsThe DEPS-R was translated into traditional Chinese, modified and developed into an electronic version. The psychometric properties of the C-DEPS-R were tested on T1DM patients from 15 to 64 years old. The factor structure of the traditional C-DEPS-R was examined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The C-EDE-Q and the C-DES-20 were used for convergent and divergent validity testing, respectively. Module H of the CB-SCID-I/P was used as a diagnostic tool for eating disorders. A correlation study was conducted with the C-DEPS-R scores obtained and the clinical characteristics. Type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients on insulin treatment were recruited as controls.ResultsIn total, 228 T1DM patients and 58 T2DM patients were recruited. There was good internal consistency of the traditional C-DEPS-R (electronic version), with the McDonald’s omega of 0.825 and test-retest reliability of 0.991. A three-factor model of the traditional C-DEPS-R was confirmed by CFA. The cut-off score for the traditional C-DEPS-R was determined to be 24; 13.2% (95% CI 8.8%-17.5%) of T1DM patients were found to score above the cut-off score, while 7.5% (95% CI 4-10.9%) scored above the cut-off by the C-EDE-Q, and 4.4% (95% CI 2.1%-7.9%) were diagnosed with eating disorders by the CB-SCID-I/P Module H. Females with T1DM scored higher on the traditional C-DEPS-R. There was a significant correlation of the C-DEPS-R with BMI, occurrence of DKA, use of a continuous glucose monitoring system and positive diagnosis by the CB-SCID-I/P module H (p < 0.05).ConclusionThe traditional Chinese-DEPS-R (electronic version) demonstrated good psychometric properties. It is a self-rated, time-efficient and reliable tool for the screening of disordered eating behaviours in T1DM patients in the Chinese population of Hong Kong.Plain English SummaryDisordered eating behaviours, such as insulin omission, are associated with an increased risk of diabetes mellitus-related complications and mortality. Generic screening tools for eating disorders may over- or underestimate such problems in diabetic patients. Type 1 diabetes mellitus patients are at particular risk of developing disordered eating behaviours or eating disorders, yet studies in Chinese populations are limited. This study developed and validated the traditional Chinese (electronic) version of the Diabetes Eating Problem Survey-Revised (DEPS-R). The traditional Chinese-DEPS-R is a self-rated, time-efficient and reliable tool for the screening of disordered eating behaviours in Type 1 diabetes mellitus patients in the Chinese population of Hong Kong. The study also estimated the prevalence of disordered eating behaviours in diabetic patients from the local Chinese population, and the clinical correlations of the symptoms and clinical parameters were explored. The study reflected a higher prevalence of eating problems in the Type 1 diabetes mellitus population and demonstrated significant correlations of eating problems with BMI as well as the occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis. Correspondence: lcw891@ha.org.hk.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-023-04744-6.