Symptoms of obsessive‐compulsive disorder in hospitalized eating disorder patients: A study using the maudsley obsessional‐compulsive inventory (MOCI)

Abstract Thirty‐one consecutive admissions with either anorexia or bulimia nervosa (DSM III R) were examined by the Maudsley Obsessional‐Compulsive Inventory (MOCI). Nutritional status was documented by Body Mass Index (BMI), eating disorder psychopathology by the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) and depression by the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck). MOCI scores were significantly higher than normative values, conflicting with previous reports using the same instrument, but supporting earlier studies which had employed the Leyton Obsessional Inventory (LOI). The MOCI score correlated with three subscales in the EDI, but none of the other measures. There were no significant differences in MOCI scores between anorexia and bulimia nervosa patients, or between patients with restricting or purging presentations. As the MOCI is a measure of obsessive‐compulsive symtomatology, distinct both from those features of eating disorders which may resemble obsessional symptoms and from obsessional personality traits, the findings suggest a positive association of eating disorders with obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD).