The psychiatric profile of patients with psychogenic excoriation.
BACKGROUND
Psychogenic excoriation describes patients who excoriate without apparent primary skin abnormality.


OBJECTIVE
This study compares the psychiatric profile of patients with psychogenic excoriation with a control group.


METHODS
Fifty consecutive patients with psychogenic excoriation were matched with 50 control patients and given a questionnaire related to psychiatric history.


RESULTS
Study and control groups differed significantly in relation to psychiatric comorbidity, use of psychotropic drugs, history of depression, and history of bipolar disorder. Psychogenic excoriation was not associated with personal history of other psychiatric disorders or family history of psychiatric comorbidity, except alcoholism.


CONCLUSIONS
Nonpsychiatrists may have made the psychiatric diagnoses.


CONCLUSIONS
Psychogenic excoriation is significantly associated with psychiatric comorbidity, especially depression and bipolar disorder. Awareness by the patient of a link between the psychiatric disorder and the cutaneous condition may help patients in dealing with the distress caused by the unknown nature of the excoriating behavior.
Mutasim
Diya F
DF
Department of Dermatology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0592, USA. diya.mutasim@uc.edu
Adams
Brian B
BB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult