Skin picking disorder with co-occurring body dysmorphic disorder

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Neuroscience
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Skin picking disorder (SPD) and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) share clinical similarities.
• Limited research exists on the clinical and cognitive profiles of individuals with co-occurring SPD and BDD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the clinical and cognitive correlates of co-occurring SPD and BDD.
• To compare individuals with SPD and co-occurring BDD to those with SPD alone and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Compared 16 participants with SPD and BDD to 39 participants with SPD only and 40 healthy volunteers.
• Assessed symptom severity, social functioning, response impulsivity (Stop-signal task), and cognitive flexibility (ID/ED Set Shift task).

Main Results:

• Individuals with co-occurring SPD and BDD showed significantly worse skin picking severity.
• Worse overall psychosocial functioning was observed in the SPD with BDD group.
• Greater cognitive inflexibility was a significant finding in individuals with both SPD and BDD.

Conclusions:

• Co-occurrence of SPD and BDD is associated with more pronounced clinical and cognitive deficits.
• These findings suggest unique aspects of SPD may be amplified when BDD is present.
• Future research should explore potential subgroups within SPD and their treatment implications.