Body dysmorphic disorder symptoms and quality of life: the role of clinical and demographic variables

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is associated with low quality of life (QOL) in clinical samples. It is unclear whether QOL is also associated with BDD symptoms in non-clinical samples, and if so, whether related demographic or clinical variables may also be associated with QOL. Questionnaires were used to assess demographics, QOL, and symptoms of BDD, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders, and alcohol use disorder in 399 undergraduate students with appearance concerns. Lower QOL was associated with higher symptoms of BDD, anxiety, OCD, and eating disorders, a greater number of body areas of concern, and female gender. In multivariate analysis, QOL was associated with symptoms of depression, BDD, and OCD. Depression and OCD may be particularly important for understanding the association between QOL and BDD, consistent with the strong relationship observed between these disorders in clinical samples.