Purpose: The aim of the current study was to assess the psychometric proprieties of the Italian version of the latest edition of the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns (QEWP-5), evaluating its accuracy in screening patients with binge-eating disorder (BED).
Methods: The Italian translation of the tool was administered to 604 Italian-speaking adults seeking treatment for obesity. The clinical sample was given the Eating Disorder Examination interview to assess for BED. Participants also completed the Symptom Checklist 90, the Obesity-Related Well-Being and the Binge-Eating Scale.
Results: The sensitivity of the QEWP-5 was 0.49, and its specificity 0.93. The positive and negative predictive values were 0.34 and 0.96, respectively. Agreement between QEWP-5 and EDE using Cohen's kappa was 0.35. Nevertheless, among patients with an EDE diagnosis of no BED, those 'QEWP-5-positive' for BED displayed higher eating-disorder and general psychopathology scores, poorer weight-related quality of life, and greater severity of binge-eating behaviours than those 'QEWP-5-negative' for BED.
Conclusion: Despite the low concordance with the EDE interview in terms of detecting the presence of BED, the QEWP-5 may be a useful initial screening tool for the clinical assessment of adults seeking treatment for obesity.
Level of evidence: Level V, Descriptive study.
Keywords: Eating disorder; Italian translation; Questionnaire; Reliability; Validity.