Hoarding Symptoms Are Not Exclusive to Hoarders.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Hoarding disorder (HD) was initially considered a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
• Hoarding behaviors are also observed in patients with eating disorders (ED), anxiety disorders (AD), major depression (MD), and psychotic disorders (PD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of HD symptoms in patients with ED, AD, MD, and PD using the Saving Inventory-Revised (SI-R).
• To compare hoarding symptomatology in clinical groups with self-identified hoarders and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the validated Saving Inventory-Revised (SI-R) instrument.
• Assessed hoarding symptomatology in patients diagnosed with ED, AD, MD, and PD.
• Included groups of self-identified hoarders and healthy controls for comparison.

Main Results:

• 22.5% of ED patients met the diagnostic threshold for HD.
• Higher SI-R scores in ED patients for Acquisition and Difficulty Discarding compared to other clinical groups.
• AD, MD, and PD patients primarily exhibited Difficulty Discarding symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Hoarding symptoms warrant assessment in various clinical populations, particularly those with ED.
• Clinicians should consider screening for hoarding in patients with Bulimia and Binge eating disorders.