Validation of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire in a community sample of Swedish women

Abstract

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is characterized by a distressing and impairing preoccupation with a nonexistent or slight defect in appearance. Patients with the disorder present to both psychiatric and non-psychiatric physicians. A few studies have assessed BDD prevalence in the general population and have shown that the disorder is relatively common. To date, no BDD assessment instruments have been validated in the general population. Our aim was to validate a brief self-screening instrument, the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ), in a female community sample. The BDDQ was translated into Swedish and filled out by 2 891 women from a randomly selected community sample. The questionnaire was validated in a subsample of 88 women, using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) together with clinical assessment as the gold standard. In the validation subsample, the BDDQ showed good concurrent validity, with a sensitivity of 94%, a specificity of 90% and a likelihood ratio of 9.4. The questionnaire can therefore be of value when screening for BDD in female populations.

Prevalence and Correlates of Exercise Addiction in the Presence vs. Absence of Indicated Eating Disorders

“…Classification of BDD is made based on answering positively to questions 1 and 2, at least one part of question 3, and indicating spending one or more hours each day thinking about their appearance. The questionnaire has excellent reported sensitivity (94%) and specificity (90%) in non-clinical community populations (Brohede et al, 2013).…”

Body dysmorphic disorder in female Swedish dermatology patients

“…36 The Swedish translation of the BDDQ has been validated against face-to-face diagnostic interviews using the SCID in a community sample of Swedish women and exhibited a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 90%. 37 The original intention was to complement a positive BDDQ screening with a diagnostic interview using the SCID and a dermatological evaluation of the perceived appearance flaws. All patients with positive screening on the BDDQ were contacted via telephone and mail and invited to a diagnostic interview.…”

Body dysmorphic disorder: a guide to identification and management for the orthodontic team

“…The questionnaire is a brief, self-reported measure, which asks about concerns with physical appearance and requires the patient to read each question and circle the answer they feel is most relevant for them. This questionnaire has been demonstrated to have a high specificity and sensitivity in a range of settings, indicating that it is a useful screening tool (Brohede et al, 2013). Question D1 establishes whether the patient is preoccupied with the defect in question.…”