Prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder and its Association With Body Features in Female Medical Students

Abstract

BackgroundBody dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a distressing psychiatric disorder. So far there have not been any studies on BDD in Saudi Arabia.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in female medical students and to investigate whether there is an association between BDD and body features of concern, social anxiety and symptoms of BDD.Materials and MethodsA cross sectional study was carried out on female medical students of the college of medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during January to April, 2015. Data were collected using the body image disturbance questionnaire, Body dysmorphic disorder symptomatology and social interaction anxiety scale. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analysis were used to analyze the results.ResultsOut of 365 students who filled out the questionnaire, 4.4% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 2.54% to 7.04%) were positive for BDD with skin (75%) and fat (68.8%) as the most frequent body features of concern. Ten features (skin, fat, chest, hips, buttocks, arms, legs, lips, fingers, and shoulders) out of twenty-six were significantly associated with BDD. Arms and chest were independently associated with BDD. The odds of presence of body concern related to “arms” was 4.3 (95% C.I: 1.5, 12.1) times more in BDD subjects than non-BDD subjects, while concern about “chest” was 3.8 (1.3, 10.9) times more when compared to non-BDD subjects. No statistically significant association was observed between BDD and social anxiety (P = 0.13).ConclusionsThis was the first study conducted in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on female medical students, which quantified the prevalence of BDD and identified the body features associated with it. Body dysmorphic disorder is prevalent in female medical students but it is relatively rare and an unnoticed disorder.

Magnitude and determinants of body dysmorphic disorder among female students in Saudi public secondary schools

“…In addition to obesity/overweight, concerns related to the skin and nose were the most frequently reported among female adolescents in the current study. Female medical students in Riyadh reported consistent findings, with the skin and fat accounting for 75% and 68.8% of bodily concern, respectively 28 . This was also relatively in agreement with the concerns of Pakistani medical students, where body weight, skin, and teeth represented the main concerns in the participants with BDD 26 .…”

“…On the national level, only one study has investigated the patterns of BDD among female medical students. Among 365 participants from King Saud University, Riyadh, Shaffi Ahamed et al 28 . found that 4.4% (CI: 2.54, 7.04) were BDD positive.…”

Body dysmorphic disorder and its relationship to sexuality, impulsivity, and addiction

“…This study examined the prevalence of BDD in a large sample of university students and BDD’s association with a range of clinical measures and questionnaires focusing on impulsivity and compulsivity. We found that the point prevalence of BDD was 1.7%, a rate similarly observed in community samples (Enander et al, 2018; Rief et al, 2008), although slightly lower than some other studies (2.4%; Koran et al, 2009), and considerably lower than that found in a small study (n=133) of university students (5.3%) (Bohne et al, 2002; see also Shaffi Ahamed et al, 2016 in female medical students; [4.4%]). Prevalence findings for BDD would be expected to differ between studies, since studies – statistically speaking – constitute samples from underlying populations (and therefore have intrinsic variance); also this may reflect differences in the nature of the cohorts examined (e.g.…”

The Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire

“…students (Grant, Lust, & Chamberlain, 2019;Singh & Veale, 2019). The prevalence of BDD in American and Turkish students were 4% and 4.8%, respectively (Ahamed, et al, 2016;Koran, Abujaoude, Large, & Serpe, 2008). Many studies have suggested that a higher rate of negative affect is associated with body image dissatisfaction (Annesi & Gorjala, 2010;Lattimore & Hutchinson, 2010) and body image distortion (Farrell, Lee, & Shafran, 2005;Taylor & Cooper, 1992).…”