Prevalence, demographic and clinical characteristics of body dysmorphic disorder among psychiatric outpatients with mood, anxiety or somatoform disorders.

Aims: To describe the prevalence, demographic and clinical characteristics of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) compared with other psychiatric outpatients with a mood, anxiety or somatoform disorder.

Method: Outpatients referred for treatment of a mood, anxiety or somatoform disorder were routinely assessed at intake. A structured interview (MINI-Plus), observer-based and self-rating instruments were administered by an independent assessor.

Results: Among our sample of 3798 referred patients, 2947 patients were diagnosed with at least one DSM-IV mood, anxiety or somatoform disorder. Of these patients 1.8% (n = 54) met the diagnostic criteria for BDD. In comparison with other outpatients, patients with BDD were on average younger, less often married and were more often living alone. Highly prevalent comorbid diagnoses were major depression (in 46.3% of cases), social anxiety disorder (in 35.2% of cases) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (in 16.7% of cases). Furthermore, patients with BDD had higher scores on the Clinical Global Impression of Severity (CGI-S) as well as lower scores on the Short Form 36 social role functioning.

Conclusion: BDD is frequently associated with depression, social phobia and OCD. Patients with BDD have more distress and more impaired interpersonal functioning.