Author/Authors :
Shaffi Ahamed، Shaik نويسنده Prince Sattam Chair for Epidemiology and Public Health
Chair, Department of Family & Community Medicine, College of
Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , , Enani، Jawaher نويسنده Prince Sattam Chair for Epidemiology and Public Health
Chair, Department of Family & Community Medicine, College of
Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , , Alfaraidi، Lama نويسنده Prince Sattam Chair for Epidemiology and Public Health
Chair, Department of Family & Community Medicine, College of
Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , , Sannari، Lujain نويسنده Prince Sattam Chair for Epidemiology and Public Health
Chair, Department of Family & Community Medicine, College of
Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , , Algain، Rihaf نويسنده Prince Sattam Chair for Epidemiology and Public Health
Chair, Department of Family & Community Medicine, College of
Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , , Alsawah، Zainah نويسنده Prince Sattam Chair for Epidemiology and Public Health
Chair, Department of Family & Community Medicine, College of
Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , , Al Hazmi، Ali نويسنده Prince Sattam Chair for Epidemiology and Public Health
Chair, Department of Family & Community Medicine, College of
Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ,
Abstract :
Background Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a distressing
psychiatric disorder. So far there have not been any studies on BDD in
Saudi Arabia. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the
prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in female medical students and to
investigate whether there is an association between BDD and body
features of concern, social anxiety and symptoms of BDD. Materials and
Methods A cross sectional study was carried out on female medical
students of the college of medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia during January to April, 2015. Data were collected using the body
image disturbance questionnaire, Body dysmorphic disorder symptomatology
and social interaction anxiety scale. Descriptive statistics, bivariate
and multivariate analysis were used to analyze the results. Results Out
of 365 students who filled out the questionnaire, 4.4% (95% confidence
intervals (CI): 2.54% to 7.04%) were positive for BDD with skin (75%)
and fat (68.8%) as the most frequent body features of concern. Ten
features (skin, fat, chest, hips, buttocks, arms, legs, lips, fingers,
and shoulders) out of twenty-six were significantly associated with BDD.
Arms and chest were independently associated with BDD. The odds of
presence of body concern related to “arms” was 4.3 (95% C.I: 1.5, 12.1)
times more in BDD subjects than non-BDD subjects, while concern about
“chest” was 3.8 (1.3, 10.9) times more when compared to non-BDD
subjects. No statistically significant association was observed between
BDD and social anxiety (P = 0.13). Conclusions This was the first study
conducted in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on female medical students,
which quantified the prevalence of BDD and identified the body features
associated with it. Body dysmorphic disorder is prevalent in female
medical students but it is relatively rare and an unnoticed disorder.
