Abstract
BACKGROUND: The course of body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) (eg, trichotillomania, skin picking, and nail biting) has received scant research attention. We sought to understand the longitudinal course of BFRBs over an 8-year period and whether the co-occurrence of a BFRB with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects the course of OCD.
METHODS: Three hundred ninety-five participants with OCD completed annual interviews using the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation to estimate BFRB and OCD symptom severity during each week of follow-up.
RESULTS: Of the 395 participants, 83 (21%) had a co-occurring BFRB. In almost one-half of the participants, BFRB onset occurred before OCD. Participants with OCD and BFRB spent the majority of the rating period experiencing full BFRB symptoms. Having a BFRB was associated with spending less time in remission from OCD.
CONCLUSIONS: Although BFRBs have long been known to be common in individuals with OCD, these data demonstrate that most individuals who have a co-occurring BFRB with OCD do not experience BFRB remission and that having a BFRB predicts a worse course for OCD.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 185-191 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Annals of clinical psychiatry : official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2015 |