BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN A SAMPLE OF PAKISTANI COSMETIC SURGERY PATIENTS

Abstract

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is an underrecognized mental disorder that is specified by an extreme preoccupation with non-existent or negligible physical defects and causes a lot of suffering. It is expected to be more frequent in cosmetic surgery patients compared to the general population. This study aimed to determine the presence and severity of BDD along with comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms in cosmetic surgery patients. A sample of 50 cosmetic surgery patients at the Plastic Surgery department at Shifa International Hospital was included in the study. The presence of BDD was gauged using the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ), whereas BDD severity and comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms were measured via the BDD-Symptom Scale (BDD-SS) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), respectively. The anxiety and depression scores appeared to be higher for the participants who showed the presence of BBD. According to the results, there was a statistically significant difference in the scores of anxiety as per HADS between those participants who showed presence and those who showed absence of BDD symptoms, U =113.0, p= 0.003 (p < .05). As for depression scores between the two groups, the difference was statistically non-significant, U=184.50, p=0.143 (p > .05). Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between total scores of BDDQ and HADS-A (p < .01), BDDQ Total Scores and BDD-SS Symptom severity (p < .01), BDD-SS Symptom severity and HADS-A (p < .05), and HADS-A and HADS-D (p < .01)