Body Dysmorphic Disorder Diagnostic Issues and Related Disorders

This article reviews diagnostic issues about body dysmorphic disorder and discusses its relationship to other disorders. Diagnostic and symptomatic overlap with obsessive-compulsive disorder is explored; associated features, course of illness, presumed etiology, and treatment outcome are compared; and similarities and differences are reviewed. Other illnesses with similar features, such as anorexia nervosa, social phobia, and the disorders associated with cosmetic surgery are mentioned. These findings are discussed in light of the development of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria.