OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER AMONG PATIENTS WITH ANOREXIA-NERVOSA AND BULIMIA-NERVOSA

Objective: The present study sought to determine the prevalence of obs essive-compulsive disorder among patients with eating disorders. Metho d: Ninety-three women who met DSM-III-R criteria for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa were investigated by using a semistructured diagnos tic interview, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, and the Eati ng Disorder Inventory. Results: Thirty-four patients (37%) met the DSM -III-R criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder and also had a clini cally significant score of 16 or higher on the Yale-Brown scale. These patients also had significantly higher, and hence pathological, mean scores on five of eight Eating Disorder Inventory scales than patients with eating disorders without concomitant obsessive-compulsive disord er. Conclusions: These results suggest that there is a high prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder among patients with anorexia and bul imia nervosa and that this prevalence may be correlated with the sever ity of the eating disorder.