Low body mass indices in adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder

The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth of adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Body heights and body mass indices (BMIs; expressed in kg m(-2)) of 51 adolescent patients with OCD were compared with the corresponding anthropometric variables in age- and sex-matched psychiatric controls and in a general population sample, respectively. In accordance with a previous epidemiologically based investigation, body heights and weights were found to be reduced, especially in male patients with OCD. The body mass indices of the patients with OCD were significantly lower than those of age-matched control patients and population controls. However, some of the parameters were also reduced in male psychiatric controls, indicating that the reductions are not entirely specific for adolescent OCD. The results suggest a neuroendocrine dysfunction in adolescent OCD. The low body mass index indicates that psychiatric disorders other than anorexia nervosa are associated with underweight during adolescence.