Skin picking and trichotillomania in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Lucas Lovato*, Ygor Arzeno Ferrão, Dan J. Stein, Roseli G. Shavitt, Leonardo F. Fontenelle, Analise Vivan, Eurípedes Constantino Miguel, Aristides Volpato Cordioli

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Scopus citations

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) associated with pathologic skin picking (PSP) and/or trichotillomania, and patients with OCD without such comorbidities, for demographic and clinical characteristics. We assessed 901 individuals with a primary diagnosis of OCD, using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) Axis I disorders. Diagnoses of PSP and trichotillomania were made in 16.3% and 4.9% of the sample, respectively. After the logistic regression analysis, the following factors retained an association with OCD-PSP/trichotillomania: younger (odds ratio [OR] = 0.979; P =.047), younger at the onset of compulsive symptoms (OR = 0.941; P =.007), woman (OR = 2.538; P <.001), with a higher level of education (OR = 1.055; P =.025), and with comorbid body dysmorphic disorder (OR = 2.363; P =.004). These findings support the idea that OCD accompanied by PSP/trichotillomania characterizes a specific subgroup.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)562-568
Number of pages7
JournalComprehensive Psychiatry
Volume53
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2012
Externally publishedYes

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