Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:1207-1209
Copyright © 1995 by American Psychiatric Association
Body dysmorphic disorder in the DSM-IV field trial for obsessive- compulsive disorder
D Simeon, E Hollander, DJ Stein, L Cohen and B Aronowitz
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the prevalence and phenomenology of body
dysmorphic disorder in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. METHOD:
The authors studied 442 patients who participated in the DSM-IV field trial
for obsessive-compulsive disorder. RESULTS: Twelve percent (N = 51) of the
patients had a lifetime comorbid diagnosis of body dysmorphic disorder.
Patients with and without body dysmorphic disorder did not differ in
demographic characteristics of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Patients with
obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder had more
anxious, impulsive, and schizotypal features than patients with
obsessive-compulsive disorder alone. Age at onset was similar for the two
disorders, and severity correlated. However, insight was significantly more
impaired for body dysmorphic disorder than for obsessive-compulsive
disorder. CONCLUSIONS: As previously thought, these findings suggest that
the two disorders are strongly related but also have differences that
require further investigation.
