Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39920874›Full record

ArticleJournal of eating disorders2025

Validation of the shortest version of the eating attitude test (EAT-7) as a screening tool for disordered eating in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

Feten Fekih-Romdhane, Youssef Boukadida, Majda Cheour, Souheil Hallit

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Feten Fekih-RomdhaneThe Tunisian Center of Early Intervention in Psychosis, Department of Psychiatry "Ibn Omrane", Razi hospital, Manouba, 2010, Tunisia. feten.fekih@gmail.com.
Youssef BoukadidaFaculty of Medicine of Sousse, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.
Majda CheourThe Tunisian Center of Early Intervention in Psychosis, Department of Psychiatry "Ibn Omrane", Razi hospital, Manouba, 2010, Tunisia.
Souheil HallitSchool of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon. souheilhallit@usek.edu.lb.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIndividuals diagnosed with schizophrenia have a two to five-fold higher risk of developing obesity and up to threefold higher risk of developing disordered eating behaviors relative to the general population. Over the past decades, the Eating Attitude Test (EAT) has been well-recognized and widely used in clinical practice. However, only little psychometric information is available on the EAT for researchers and clinicians who deal with patients with schizophrenia, and it is still unclear whether the scale could fulfill measurement needs and help clinical and research decision-making in the context of psychotic disorders. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the shortest version of the EAT (EAT-7) among newly-diagnosed patients with schizophrenia who had minimal exposure to antipsychotics at the start of the study.

methodsThis is an observational, cross-sectional survey that was carried out in the department of psychiatry at Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia. The study took place between January and June 2024, and involved clinically-stabilized outpatients with schizophrenia who have had < 3 months of treatment with antipsychotics (N = 112; mean age of 24.44 ± 5.41 years).

resultsIn terms of factor analysis, the EAT-7 presented a one-dimensional structure. All seven items strongly loaded on a single factor, with all indices of the CFA suggesting a good fit to the data. In addition, the EAT-7 yielded excellent reliability coefficients, with both a McDonald's ω and a Cronbach's α of 0.88. Measurement invariance of the EAT-7 across sex groups was tested using multi-group CFA, and established at the configural, scalar, and metric levels. No significant differences in EAT-7 scores between males and females were found. Finally, EAT-7 scores positively correlated with scores of depression and anxiety, supporting concurrent validity of the scale.

conclusionThe shortness, items' clarity and conciseness of the EAT-7 make it an efficient tool appropriate as a first-step screening tool to detect disordered eating in patients with schizophrenia at low cost and burden. We hope that this study will facilitate the widespread application of the EAT-7 in routine assessment and monitoring of disordered eating in patients with schizophrenia, in both clinical and research practices.

Indexed as

Disordered eatingEating attitude testPsychometric propertiesSchizophreniaShort form

Identifiers

PMID39920874
PMCPMC11806566

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.