title: Excoriation (skin-picking) disorder in adults: a cross-cultural survey of Israeli Jewish and Arab samples.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to estimate the lifetime prevalence of Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder (SPD) in the Israeli adult population as a whole and compare SPD prevalence in the Jewish and Arab communities. We also explored demographic, medical and psychological correlates of SPD diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaires and scales screening for SPD, and assessing the severity of perceived stress, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), alcohol use, illicit drug use, and medical disorders were completed in a sample of 2145 adults attending medical settings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The lifetime prevalence of SPD was 5.4% in the total sample; it did not differ between genders or within Jewish and Arab subsamples. Severity of depression (p<0.001), OCD (p<0.001) and perceived stress (p=<0.001) were greater in the SPD positive sample. Similarly, diagnoses of BDD (p=0.02) and generalized anxiety (p=0.03) were significantly more common in the SPD-positive respondents. Alcohol use and illicit substance use were significantly more common among SPD positive respondents in the total sample (both p's=0.01) and the Jewish subsample (p=0.03 and p=0.02, respectively). Hypothyroidism was more prevalent in the SPD-positive Jewish subsample (p=0.02). In the total sample, diabetes mellitus was more common in women than in men (p=0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lifetime SPD appears to be relatively common in Israeli adults and associated with other mental disorders. Differences in the self-reported medical and psychiatric comorbidities between the Jewish and Arab subsamples suggest the possibility of cross-cultural variation in the correlates of this disorder.
authors: Department of Dermatology Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. Electronic address: vleibovici@hadassah.org.il.
authors: Vera
authors: V
authors: Leibovici
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA.
authors: Lorrin M
authors: LM
authors: Koran
authors: Department of Dermatology Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Sari
authors: S
authors: Murad
authors: Department of Dermatology Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Ihab
authors: I
authors: Siam
authors: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors: Brian L
authors: BL
authors: Odlaug
authors: Department of Dermatology Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Uri
authors: U
authors: Mandelkorn
authors: Clalit Health Services, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Vera
authors: V
authors: Feldman-Weisz
authors: Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
authors: Nancy J
authors: NJ
authors: Keuthen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018912:Arabs; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D003625:Data Collection; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007585:Jews; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult