Screening Tool Effective in Diagnosing Eating Disorders Among Bariatric Surgery Candidates

The eating disorder diagnostic scale (EDDS) is an effective diagnostic criteria for providing rates of binge eating and eating psychopathology among candidates for bariatric surgery, according to a recent study.

In their study, the researchers assessed 343 individuals seeking bariatric surgery at a large public hospital in the Midwestern United States. The EDDS, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR) and fifth edition (DSM-5), was used to evaluate rates of binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and maladaptive eating behaviors among these patients.
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Results indicated that rates of binge eating disorder among the 343 patients was approximately 16% in accordance with the DSM-5, and 13% in accordance with the DSM-IV-TR. Rates of bulimia nervosa were 8% (DSM-5) and 6% (DSM-IV-TR). A total of 66.1% of patients had reported at least one episode of binge eating per week.

According to the researchers, the most commonly used compensatory behaviors were fasting, excessive exercise, laxative use, and vomiting. They observed an inverse relationship between severity of the eating symptomatology and problematic response.

“The EDDS shows promise as a screening tool that uses diagnostic criteria to provide rates of binge eating and eating psychopathology among surgical candidates,” the researchers concluded. “Our findings suggest that subsequent validation studies of this measure are needed, should address potential response bias concerns, and should employ clear definitions of binge eating to promote standardization of eating pathology assessment in the bariatric population.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Williams GA, Hawkins MAW, Duncan J, Rummell CM, Perkins S, Crowther JH. Maladaptive eating behavior assessment among bariatric surgery candidates: evaluation of the eating disorder diagnostic scale. Surg Obes Related Dis. 2017;13(7):1183-1188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soard.2017.03.002.