Development and validation across trimester of the Prenatal Eating Behaviors Screening tool

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Rapid screening tools are crucial for early identification of at-risk patients.
• Existing tools do not address the unique needs of pregnant women with eating disorders (EDs).
• A validated, rapid screening tool for EDs in pregnancy is needed to improve patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a rapid, sensitive, and specific screening tool for identifying potential eating disorders (EDs) in pregnant women.
• To assess the tool's reliability and accuracy across different trimesters of pregnancy.

Main Methods:

• A 25-item tool was developed from qualitative data and existing ED screening tools.
• The tool was tested on development (n=190) and validation (n=167) samples.
• Statistical analyses included factor analysis, logistic regressions, ROC curves, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) across trimesters.

Main Results:

• The refined 12-item tool, Pregnancy Eating Disorder Screening (PEBS), showed strong internal reliability (alpha development=0.95, validation=0.91).
• The PEBS demonstrated acceptable CFA fit across trimesters.
• Validation against current ED diagnoses showed acceptable sensitivity and specificity (e.g., validation sensitivity=69.2%, specificity=86.5%).

Conclusions:

• The 12-question PEBS tool reliably and sensitively detects EDs throughout pregnancy.
• This screening measure can facilitate early identification and treatment, potentially reducing health disparities.
• The PEBS offers a standardized approach for assessing EDs in pregnant populations.