Dysmorphophobic disorders in patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) are manifested by cognitive, emotional and behavioral symptoms that disrupt the process of eating. They manifest in childhood, adolescence with a conscious restriction in food, and sometimes with a complete rejection of it, in order to correct imaginary fullness or sharply overestimated increased body weight. The psychopathological basis of AN and BN is the syndrome of dysmorphophobia or dysmorphomania, which is accompanied by a depressed mood, careful masking of both their experiences and body features, the desire to correct an imaginary defect in any way. The aim of the study was research pathological dissatisfaction with one»s own appearance and to evaluate the diagnostic capabilities of questionnaires to determine the degree of dissatisfaction with one»s own body and their impact on the affective state and quality of life of patients. Methods used in the study: clinical and psychopathological with anamnestic information from patients and their relatives and catamnestic observation data and psychometric. A study of 130 female patients with AN and BN aged 13 to 44 years showed the presence of symptoms characteristic of dysmorphophobic disorders in an absolutely overwhelming number of patients either in anamnesis or in the current mental state, as well as the degree of its influence on the affective state and quality of life. Dysmorphophobic disorders are axial in typical eating disorders — anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The absence of obvious dysmorphophobic or dysmorphomanic symptoms makes it possible to distinguish atypical variants from typical cases of AN and BN, as well as to identify other eating disorders and eating behavior, followed by the use of individual forms of therapy. The study indicates the prevalence, severity, persistence of dysmorphophobic symptoms and its role in the manifestation, dynamics and outcomes in typical variants of eating disorders.