Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:72-75
Copyright © 1995 by American Psychiatric Association
Obsessive-compulsive disorder among patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa
A Thiel, A Broocks, M Ohlmeier, GE Jacoby and G Schussler
Department of Psychiatry, Georg-August-University of Gottingen, Germany.
OBJECTIVE: The present study sought to determine the prevalence of
obsessive-compulsive disorder among patients with eating disorders. METHOD:
Ninety-three women who met DSM-III-R criteria for anorexia nervosa or
bulimia nervosa were investigated by using a semistructured diagnostic
interview, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, and the Eating
Disorder Inventory. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients (37%) met the DSM-III-R
criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder and also had a clinically
significant score of 16 or higher on the Yale-Brown scale. These patients
also had significantly higher, and hence pathological, mean scores on five
of eight Eating Disorder Inventory scales than patients with eating
disorders without concomitant obsessive-compulsive disorder. CONCLUSIONS:
These results suggest that there is a high prevalence of
obsessive-compulsive disorder among patients with anorexia and bulimia
nervosa and that this prevalence may be correlated with the severity of the
eating disorder.
