OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE COMORBIDITY IN THE DIETING DISORDERS

Objective: This study investigated the comorbidity oi obsessive compul sive disorder and obsessive compulsive personality disorder with the d ieting disorders. A comorbid sample was examined in order to test the hypothesis that obsessive compulsive symptoms and personality are prem orbid in these patients. Method: Sixty-eight inpatients (35 with anore xia nervosa and 33 with bulimia nervosa) were assessed for DSM-III-R A xis 1 and Axis 11 obsessive compulsive psychopathology using the Compo site International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the Personality Dis orders Inventory (PDE) respectively. Results: Twenty-one percent oi th e group met criteria for a diagnosis oi obsessive compulsive disorder. Thirty-seven percent oi anorexia nervosa patients were comorbid for o bsessive compulsive disorder compared to only 3% of bulimia nervosa pa tients. In most, the obsessive compulsive disorder had predated the di eting disorder. Nineteen percent of patients were found to have premor bid obsessive compulsive personality disorder. Discussion: This study supports the assumption of obsessive compulsive comorbidity within the dieting disorders and provides empirical support that this obsessiona lity is a premorbid characteristic. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc .