title: Longitudinal course of body-focused repetitive behaviors in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The course of body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) (eg, trichotillomania, skin picking, and nail biting) has received scant research attention. We sought to understand the longitudinal course of BFRBs over an 8-year period and whether the co-occurrence of a BFRB with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects the course of OCD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred ninety-five participants with OCD completed annual interviews using the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation to estimate BFRB and OCD symptom severity during each week of follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 395 participants, 83 (21%) had a co-occurring BFRB. In almost one-half of the participants, BFRB onset occurred before OCD. Participants with OCD and BFRB spent the majority of the rating period experiencing full BFRB symptoms. Having a BFRB was associated with spending less time in remission from OCD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although BFRBs have long been known to be common in individuals with OCD, these data demonstrate that most individuals who have a co-occurring BFRB with OCD do not experience BFRB remission and that having a BFRB predicts a worse course for OCD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA. E-mail: jongrant@uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Jon E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Maria C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Mancebo
authors.forename: Marc E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mooney
authors.forename: Jane L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Eisen
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012074:Remission Induction; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology