Body Dysmorphic Disorder in the DSM-IV Field Trial for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Simeon, Daphne
Hollander, Eric
Stein, Dan J.
Cohen, Lisa
Aronowitz, Bonnie

Received Dec. 29, 1993; revision received Sept. 19, 1994; accepted Oct. 20, 1994. From the Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Address reprint requests to Dr. Simeon, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1228, New York, NY 10029-6574.
Supported in part by a Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression to Dr. Simeon and NIMH Research Scientist Development Award MH-00750 to Dr. Hollander.

American Journal of Psychiatry 152(8):p 1207-1209, August 1995.

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 or 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. (Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:1207-1209)