Binge-eating disorder screener may be clinically useful for psychiatrists, PCPs

ATLANTA — Data presented here suggest clinical utility of a binge-eating disorder screening tool among psychiatrists and primary care providers.

“We wanted to evaluate knowledge and attitudes about [binge-eating disorder] and its treatment by both primary care physicians and general psychiatrists, neither group of which professed to be experts in treating eating disorders,” Barry K. Herman, MD, global medical team lead, senior medical director at Shire, told Healio.com/Psychiatry. “We also wanted to survey the perceived value and ease of use of the 7-Item Binge-eating Disorder Screener in clinical practice for both groups.”

Researchers administered two waves of online surveys to primary care physicians (PCPs) (n = 122) and psychiatrists (n = 123) based in the United States who reported “none” or “some to average” experience with treating eating disorders. The survey assessed binge-eating disorder knowledge, beliefs and attitudes and the value and ease of use of the 7-Item Binge-eating Disorder Screener (BEDS-7).

Overall, binge-eating disorder knowledge significantly increased from wave one to wave two in both PCPs (P < .001) and psychiatrists (P < .05). PCPs had lower binge-eating disorder knowledge compared with psychiatrists in both waves (P < .001).

PCPs and psychiatrists reported similar rates of importance regarding binge-eating disorder, though comfort levels regarding binge-eating disorder were significantly lower among PCPs, compared with psychiatrists.

BEDS-7 was used by 32% of PCPs and 26.8% of psychiatrists.

During wave 2, all BEDS-7 users reported the screener was “very valuable” or “somewhat valuable” and “very easy” or “reasonably easy” to use.

“We found that knowledge of [binge-eating disorder] and confidence with diagnosing and treating [binge-eating disorder] were higher among psychiatrists than PCPs, but both groups acknowledged the importance of being knowledgeable about [binge-eating disorder]. We also found that PCPs were more likely to use the screener in their practices than general psychiatrists,” Herman said. “Among those who used the BEDS-7 screener, it was reported to be valuable and easy to use. The findings suggest that having a patient reported, facile screener available to screen for [binge-eating disorder] may result in its use in clinical practice among both PCPs and general psychiatrists.” – by Amanda Oldt

Reference:

Herman BK, et al. The use and value of the seven-item binge-eating disorder screener in clinical practice. Presented at: American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting; May 14-18, 2016; Atlanta.

Disclosure: The research was sponsored by Shire Development, LLC.