Bulimia and OCD

OB/GYN News,  Feb 15, 2002  by Sally Koch Kubetin

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A significant proportion of bulimic women and girls have comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms both related and unrelated to food, weight, or body issues, said Dr. Umberto Albert and his associates at the University of Turin (Italy).

Current and lifetime obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) of 38 female bulimia patients (mean age 28 years) were assessed using a structured clinical interview Obsessive-compulsive symptoms--including aggression, contamination, washing, checking, and ordering--occurred in 26% of the patients, while 11% met the diagnostic criteria for comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorders (Compr. Psychiatry 42[6]:456-60, 2001).

The investigators also found a 16% prevalence of current subthreshold obsessive-compulsive syndromes, suggesting that many bulimics suffer from obsessive-compulsive syndromes that aren't severe enough for a disorder diagnosis.

Bulimic patients with obsessive-compulsive symptoms also scored higher on an eating disorder inventory scale than bulimics without such symptoms.

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