Screening of males with eating disorders.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate two different questionnaires for screening of eating disorders (ED) in males; the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) and the Survey for Eating Disorders (SEDs). The study sample consisted of 1196 Norwegian males serving as compulsory military recruits (mean age 19.9, SD = 1.4). The best predictors for having a SEDs-based diagnosis of ED were the EDI scales Drive for thinness (D7), bulimia (B), ineffectiveness (I) and interpersonal awareness (IA). When we classified men with an EDI sum score of 40 or higher as having an ED, the sensitivity was 47% and the specificity was 91%, compared to the SEDs diagnosis of ED. Our results suggest modest agreement between the ability of the EDI and that of the SEDs to identify men with ED. Our results indicate the need of further studies including clinical samples to validate the EDI against the SEDs.