Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T18:15:39.996Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

A Survey of Fifty Cases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

David Veale ,
Ann Boocock ,
Kevin Gournay ,
Windy Dryden ,
Fozia Shah ,
Robert Willson  and
Jessica Walburn
David Veale*
Affiliation:
Grovelands Priory Hospital, and Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London
Ann Boocock
Affiliation:
Royal Free Hospital, London
Kevin Gournay
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Windy Dryden
Affiliation:
Goldsmiths College, University of London
Fozia Shah
Affiliation:
Grovelands Priory Hospital
Robert Willson
Affiliation:
Grovelands Priory Hospital
Jessica Walburn
Affiliation:
Grovelands Priory Hospital
*
Dr D. Veale, Grovelands Priory Hospital, The Bourne, Southgate, London N14 6RA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) consists of a preoccupation with an ‘imagined’ defect in appearance which causes significant distress or impairment in functioning. There has been little previous research into BDD. This study replicates a survey from the USA in a UK population and evaluates specific measures of BDD.

Method

Cross-sectional interview survey of 50 patients who satisfied DSM–IV criteria for BDD as their primary disorder.

Results

The average age at onset was late adolescence and a large proportion of patients were either single or divorced. Three-quarters of the sample were female. There was a high degree of comorbidity with the most common additional Axis I diagnosis being either a mood disorder (26%), social phobia (16%) or obsessive–compulsive disorder (6%). Twenty-four per cent had made a suicide attempt in the past. Personality disorders were present in 72% of patients, the most common being paranoid, avoidant and obsessive–compulsive.

Conclusions

BDD patients had a high associated comorbidity and previous suicide attempts. BDD is a chronic handicapping disorder and patients are not being adequately identified or treated by health professionals.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 169 , Issue 2 , August 1996 , pp. 196 - 201
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn, revised) (DSM–III–R). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn) (DSM–IV). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Carr, A. T. & Harris, D. L. (1992) ‘The Derriford Scale$’. Presented to the British Psychological Society, Scarborough, 1992.Google Scholar
Gomez-Perez, J. C., Marks, I. M. & Gutierrez-Fisac, J. L. (1994) Dysmorphophobia: clinical features and outcome with behaviour therapy. European Psychiatry, 9, 229–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, D. L. & Carr, A. T. (1993) ‘Need and Outcome in 416 NHS cosmetic surgery patients measured by the Derriford Scale$’. Presented at the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, Swansea, 1993.Google Scholar
Hollander, E., Cohen, L. J. & Simeon, D. (1993) Body dysmorphic disorder. Psychiatric Annals, 23, 359–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montgomery, S. A. & Asberg, M. (1979) A new depression rating scale designed to be sensitive to change. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 382–389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morselli, E. (1886) Sulla dismorfofobia e sulla tafefobia. Bollettino della Regia Accademia de Genova, VI, 110–119.Google Scholar
Neziroglu, F. & Yaryura Tobias, J. A. (1993) Body dysmorphic disorder: Phenomenology and case descriptions. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 21, 27–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, K. A., McElroy, S. L., Keck, P. E. Jr, et al (1993) Body dysmorphic disorder 30 cases of imagined ugliness, American Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 302–308.Google ScholarPubMed
Rosen, J. C., Reiter, J. & Orosan, P. (1995) Cognitive behavioural body image therapy for body dysmorphic disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 263–269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosen, J. C., Reiter, J. & Orosan, P. (1996) Development of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Examination. Behaviour Research and Therapy (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanderson, W. C., Wetzler, S., Beck, A. T., et al (1994) Prevalence of personality disorders among patients with anxiety disorders. Psychiatry Research, 51, 167–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., Gibbon, M., et al (1990) Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–III–R. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.Google Scholar
Thomas, C. S. (1995) A study of facial dysmorphophobia. Psychiatric Bulletin, 19, 763–739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, S. M., Beidel, D. C., Danch, C. V., et al (1989) An empirically derived inventory to measure social fears and anxiety: The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 1, 35–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veale, D., Gournay, K., Dryden, W., et al (1996) Body dysmorphic disorder: a cognitive behavioural model and pilot randomised controlled trial Behaviour Research and Therapy (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organization (1992) The Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD–10). Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.