Patients with anorexia nervosa have elevated scores on the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale

We found, after excluding core anorexic symptoms (disturbances of body image, feeding, and exercise), that anorexcics had significantly elevated scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) compared to matched healthy volunteer women. We found that 19 unmedicated anorexic patients had a score of 22 ± 5 on the Y-BOCS, similar in magnitude to the score reported for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). As a group, anorexic patients had 10 ± 5 (mean ± SD) of the types of obsessions and compulsions commonly found in patients with OCD. This study supports other studies suggesting that anorexia nervosa may have a relationship to OCD.