AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC-STUDY OF TRICHOTILLOMANIA IN ISRAELI ADOLESCENTS

Objective: To determine the prevalence of trichotillomania and comorbi d psychopathology in nonreferred adolescents, Method: Using a question naire and interview, 794 Israeli 17-year-olds were screened for curren t and past hair-pulling and comorbid psychopathology. Results: Eight c urrent or past hair-pullers (5 male, 3 female) were identified, yieldi ng a lifetime prevalence of hair-pulling of 1%. Four subjects reported current hair-pulling (point prevalence of 0.5%), None of these report ed alopecia, distress, or tension before pulling; only two reported re lief after pulling. Thus, none met the full DSM-III-R criteria for tri chotillomania. Four subjects reported past but not current hair-pullin g, with bald spots in two cases. Three of the four current hair-puller s had significant obsessive-compulsive symptoms, a significantly eleva ted rate compared to the entire screened population. Two subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder also had generalized anxiety disorder a nd, in one case, chronic simple vocal ties. Hair-pullers did not diffe r significantly from non-hair-pullers in IQ, physical fitness, and ove rall competency, or prevalence of other comorbid disorders. Conclusion s: In a community adolescent sample, only 25% of hair-pullers reported resulting bare spots and none endorsed both rising tension and subseq uent relief. The prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms was signi ficantly elevated in these nonreferred hair-pullers.