title: Body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder: similarities, differences and the classification debate.
abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder have many similarities in clinical presentation. Obsessive-compulsive disorder has historically been considered an anxiety disorder, whereas body dysmorphic disorder has been grouped among the somatoform disorders. Researchers in these areas are currently debating whether the similarities warrant the inclusion of body dysmorphic disorder within a proposed category of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. This article describes the association between obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder as evidenced by the emerging literature, and presents theoretical and clinical implications of this association.
authors.affiliation: OCD & Related Disorders Program, Simches Research Building, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston MA 02114, USA. achosak@partners.org
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chosak
authors.forename: Luana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jenike
authors.forename: Darin D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Dougherty
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilhelm
mesh_terms: D001828:Body Image; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D009626:Terminology as Topic