Picky Eating in Childhood: Associations With Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

To test whether childhood picky eating (PE)-a behavior previously linked to many forms of psychopathology-is specifically associated with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

We investigated the relationship between PE and symptoms of several forms of psychopathology in two separate observational samples: a sample of 110 children (5 and 6 years old) and a sample of 210 children (8 and 9 years old) drawn from a longitudinal study. In each sample, regression models based on psychiatric symptoms or diagnoses were used to assess the specificity of PE associations while accounting for cooccurring symptoms or comorbidities.

Although bivariate associations emerged between PE and multiple forms of psychopathology, multivariate analyses revealed these associations were driven by a strong and specific association between PE and symptoms of OCD in both samples. Moreover, PE among 8- and 9-year-olds in the longitudinal study predicted emergence of additional later psychopathology, specifically attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Findings suggest that PE, an easily identifiable clinical presentation, is also a specific marker for obsessive-compulsive symptomatology in school-age children and may impart risk for ADHD later in childhood.