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. 2000 Oct-Dec;35(4):431–440.

Evaluation of a Screening Test for Female College Athletes with Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating

Deborah L Nagel *, David R Black *, Larry J Leverenz *, Daniel C Coster †
PMCID: PMC1323370  PMID: 16558658

Abstract

Objective:

To develop a screening test to detect female college athletes with eating disorders/disordered eating (ED/ DE). No validated eating disorder screening tests specifically for athletes have been available.

Design and Setting:

In this cross-sectional study, subjects from a large midwestern university completed 3 objective tests and a structured diagnostic interview.

Measurements:

A new test, developed and pilot tested by the researchers (Athletic Milieu Direct Questionnaire, AMDQ), and 2 tests normed for the general population (Eating Disorder Inventory-2, Bulimia Test-Revised) were used to identify ED/DE athletes. A structured, validated, diagnostic interview (Eating Disorder Examination, version 12.OD) was used to determine which test was most effective in screening female college athletes.

Subjects:

Subjects included 149 female athletes, ages 18 to 25 years, from 11 Division I and select club sports.

Results:

ED/DE subjects (35%) were found in almost every sport. Of the ED/DE subjects, 65% exhibited disordered eating, 25% were bulimic, 8% were classified as eating disordered not otherwise specified (NOS), and 2% were anorexic. The AMDQ more accurately identified ED/DE than any test or combination of items. The AMDQ produced superior results on 7 of 9 epidemiologic analyses; sensitivity was 80% and specificity was 77%, meaning that it correctly classified approximately 4 of every 5 persons who were truly exhibiting an eating disorder or disordered eating.

Conclusions:

We recommend that the AMDQ subsets, which met statistical criteria, be used to screen for ED/DE to enable early identification of athletes at the disordered eating or NOS stage and to initiate interventions before the disorder progresses.

Keywords: anorexia, bulimia, dieting behaviors, Eating Disorder Examination

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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