Body dysmorphic disorder and its associated psychological and psychopathological features in an Italian community sample.

OBJECTIVE: Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by preoccupation with perceived defects in physical appearance that are not observable or appear slight to others, along with low self-esteem, high perfectionism, and high comorbidity. Little is known about BDD prevalence and phenomenology in the Italian context, and no data are currently available on BDD prevalence using DSM-5 criteria in the Italian context. The aims of the current study were to explore the prevalence and the phenomenology of BDD and its associated psychological and psychopathological features such as self-esteem, perfectionistic traits, social anxiety, depressive, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a community sample.

METHODS: Six hundred and fifteen community individuals completed a battery of self-report questionnaires.

RESULTS: 10 (1.63%) individuals met DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for BDD; hair, nose and teeth were the most common areas of concern. Individuals with BDD reported also lower levels of self-esteem, more severe social anxiety symptomatology, general distress, depression and obsessive-compulsive features than people without BDD.

CONCLUSIONS: BDD is not a rare condition in the Italian context and it emerged to be associated with significant morbidity.