Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2025

A Computer-Based Platform for Aiding Clinicians in Eating Disorder Analysis and Diagnosis
Published on: May 10, 2022
Disordered eating instruments in the pregnancy cohort: a systematic review update
Juliette Stephens1, Aleshia Ellis2, Susan Roberts2
1Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.
Insights
Screening for disordered eating during pregnancy is vital for maternal and infant health. This review found promising new tools, but more validation is needed for a gold standard.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Mental Health
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Disordered eating in pregnancy poses significant risks to both mother and child.
- The COVID-19 pandemic heightened concerns regarding pregnant women's mental health, including disordered eating.
- Existing research necessitates updated psychometric evidence for screening instruments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review psychometric evidence for new pregnancy-specific disordered eating instruments.
- To evaluate measures developed for non-pregnant populations for use in pregnant individuals.
- To update a previous review on this topic.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature searches conducted across multiple databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, CINAHL, etc.) from April 2019 to February 2024.
- Inclusion criteria applied to 20 selected citations, assessing study quality.
- Identification and analysis of 14 psychometric instruments, including two novel pregnancy-specific tools.
Main Results:
- Preliminary psychometric evidence for the Pregnancy Eating Behaviors Scale (PEBS), Disordered Eating in Pregnancy Scale (DEAPS), and Eating Disorder Examination-Prevalence Version (EDE-PV) is promising.
- Two new pregnancy-specific screening instruments were identified.
- Most included studies demonstrated reasonable quality.
Conclusions:
- Further validation of identified instruments across diverse samples, designs, settings, and administration methods is required.
- No single instrument currently stands as a gold standard for screening disordered eating in pregnancy.
- Continued research is essential to refine and validate effective screening tools for disordered eating in pregnant populations.
Abstract:
Pregnancy represents a crucial timepoint to screen for disordered eating due to the significant adverse impact on the woman and her infant. There has been an increased interest in disordered eating in pregnancy since the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected the mental health of pregnant women compared to the general population. This systematic review is an update to a previous review aiming to explore current psychometric evidence for any new pregnancy-specific instruments and other measures of disordered eating developed for non-pregnant populations. Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed, ProQuest, PsycInfo, CINAHL, Scopus, MEDLINE, and Embase from April 2019 to February 2024. A total of 20 citations met criteria for inclusion, with most studies of reasonable quality. Fourteen psychometric instruments were identified, including two new pregnancy-specific screening instruments. Overall, preliminary psychometric evidence for the PEBS, DEAPS, and EDE-PV was promising. There is an ongoing need for validation in different samples, study designs, settings, and administration methods are required. Similar to the original review on this topic, we did not find evidence to support a gold standard recommendation.
Related Concept Videos
Bulimia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa
Symptoms and Physical Effects
Individuals with anorexia nervosa commonly exhibit extreme...
Binge Eating Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
Assessment of the Gastrointestinal System II: Health Perception Pattern
Health Perception Patterns
Health perception patterns offer valuable insights into a patient's lifestyle habits and how they may impact their GI health. These patterns include:
Regression Toward the Mean

