High rates of comorbid OCD in patients with bulimia nervosa

Abstract

Abstract There have been several suggestions in the literature that anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be related. To assess in a controlled fashion the incidence and lifetime prevalence of OCD in patients with bulimia nervosa, we administered portions of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) to 25 females with a primary diagnosis of bulimia nervosa. We also assessed current obsessive-compulsive symptomatology using the YBOCS, Symptom Checklist 90-R, and the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory. After excluding core bulimic symptoms, the lifetime prevalence of OCD was 32%; an additional 24% met Subthreshold criteria for OCD at some point in their lives. Core anorexia/bulimia nervosa symptoms to ensure that bulimic symptoms would not create a false-positive for OCD. Again, After excluding core bulimic symptoms, the mean score on the YBOCS score on the YBOCS obsessions subscale was 12.0 ± 11.6 and on the compulsions subscale was 5.04 ± 4.75....