title: Sex difference in using the SCOFF questionnaire to identify eating disorder patients at a psychiatric outpatient clinic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with eating disorder (ED) often remain unrecognized in many settings. Few studies have explored the use of eating measures in an adult male population. This study aimed to examine the comparative validity of the SCOFF questionnaire for detecting ED cases in men and women in the psychiatric outpatient setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychiatric outpatients, including 605 men and 936 women, aged 18-45years, completed the paper form SCOFF and were interviewed using the ED Module of the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV-TR. A subgroup of patients completed several additional self-reported questionnaires concerning eating and general psychopathology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Scores of 2 and 3 on the SCOFF were the optimal cutoff values for determining ED among men (sensitivity 86% and specificity 74%) and women (sensitivity 80% and specificity 86%), respectively. While age did not significantly affect the validity indices, the SCOFF as a screening tool for ED in obese men was underperformed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Mandarin Chinese version of the SCOFF is a potentially valid tool to detect ED in both genders in the psychiatric outpatient settings. By helping to detect hidden ED morbidity, the SCOFF can enhance diagnostic accuracy and facilitate comprehensive treatment among psychiatric outpatients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin 64041, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chao-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 10002, Taiwan. Electronic address: mctseng@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Mei-Chih Meg
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Taipei City Psychiatric Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei 11080, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuan-Yu
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10055, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chin-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 10002, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shih-Cheng
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 10002, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsi-Chung
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult