A comparison of different methods for assessing the features of eating disorders in patients with binge eating disorder

The authors compared 3 methods for assessing the features of eating disorde rs in patients with binge eating disorder (BED). Participants were administ ered the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) interview and completed the EDE Questionnaire (EDE-Q) at baseline. Participants prospectively self-monitore d their eating behaviors daily for 4 weeks and then completed another EDE-Q . The EDE and the EDE-Q were significantly correlated on frequencies of obj ective bulimic episodes (binge eating) and on the Dietary Restraint, Eating Concern, Weight Concern, and Shape Concern subscales. Mean differences in the EDE and EDE-Q frequencies of objective bulimic episodes were not signif icant, but scores on the 4 subscales differed significantly, with the EDE-Q yielding higher scores. At 4 weeks, the EDE-Q retrospective 28-day assessm ent was significantly correlated with the prospective daily self-monitoring records for frequency of objective bulimic episodes, and the mean differen ce between methods was not significant. The EDE-Q and self-monitoring findi ngs for subjective bulimic episodes and objective overeating differed signi ficantly. Thus, in patients with BED, the 3 assessment methods showed some acceptable convergence, most notably for objective bulimic episodes.