Abstract
Background
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by persistent concern with non-existent or minor defects in one's physical appearance. BDD can be difficult to identify as patients often have limited insight into the condition.
Objective
We aimed to determine the prevalence of BDD in patients presenting to private aesthetic clinical settings in four Latin American countries.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study From August to October 2022 to evaluate the prevalence of BDD among 360 patients seeking nonsurgical cosmetic procedures in Chile, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia using the Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire (DCQ). We reported prevalence estimates for the lowest and highest previously proposed DCQ cutoff points.
Results
The DCQ total scores in the study population ranged from 0 to 21, with a mean total score of 5.1 ± 3.4. The prevalence of positive screening results for BDD (total DCQ score ≥ 9) was 15.8%. The prevalence of a likely diagnosis of BDD (total DCQ score of ¥ 17) was 0.83%.
Limitations
The convenience sample limited the generalizability of the findings to Latin America.
Conclusion
We encourage colleagues to be more mindful of this diagnosis and to facilitate earlier psychological evaluation in patients who are positive for BDD.
Level of Evidence III
This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Singh A, Veale D (2019) Understanding and treating body dysmorphic disorder. Indian J Psychiatry 61:S131–S135
Nicewicz HR, Boutrouille JF (2023) Body dysmorphic disorder. StatPearls Publishing, Treasure Island, FL
Schulte J, Schulz C, Wilhelm S, Buhlmann U (2020) Treatment utilization and treatment barriers in individuals with body dysmorphic disorder. BMC Psychiatry 20:69
Feusner JD, Neziroglu F, Wilhelm S, Mancusi L, Bohon C (2010) What causes BDD: research findings and a proposed model. Psychiatr Ann 40:349–355
Buhlmann U, Marques LM, Wilhelm S (2012) Traumatic experiences in individuals with body dysmorphic disorder. J Nerv Ment Dis 200:95–98
Osman S, Cooper M, Hackmann A, Veale D (2004) Spontaneously occurring images and early memories in people with body dysmorphic disorder. Memory 12:428–436
Didie ER, Tortolani CC, Pope CG, Menard W, Fay C, Phillips KA (2006) Childhood abuse and neglect in body dysmorphic disorder. Child Abuse Negl 30:1105–1115
Angelakis I, Gooding PA, Panagioti M (2016) Suicidality in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD): a systematic review with meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev 49:55–66
Stevens SM, Markatia ZA, Ameli K, Bayaraa E, Lee WW (2023) Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in orbital plastic surgery and its relationship with the use of social media. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 47:2447–2452
Laughter MR, Anderson JB, Maymone MBC, Kroumpouzos G (2023) Psychology of aesthetics: beauty, social media, and body dysmorphic disorder. Clin Dermatol 41:28–32
International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (2023) ISAPS international survey on aesthetic/cosmetic procedures performed in 2021. Available from: https://www.isaps.org/discover/about-isaps/global-statistics/reports-and-press-releases/global-survey-2021-full-report-and-press-releases/
Oosthuizen P, Lambert T, Castle DJ (1998) Dysmorphic concern: prevalence and associations with clinical variables. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 32:129–132
Mancuso SG, Knoesen NP, Castle DJ (2010) The Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire: a screening measure for body dysmorphic disorder. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 44:535–542
Schieber K, Kollei I, de Zwaan M, Martin A (2018) The Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire in the German general population: psychometric properties and normative data. Aesthetic Plast Surg 42:1412–1420
Monzani B, Rijsdijk F, Anson M, Iervolino AC, Cherkas L, Spector T et al (2012) A twin study of body dysmorphic concerns. Psychol Med 42:1949–1955
Enander J, Ivanov VZ, Mataix-Cols D, Kuja-Halkola R, Ljótsson B, Lundström S et al (2018) Prevalence and heritability of body dysmorphic symptoms in adolescents and young adults: a population-based nationwide twin study. Psychol Med 48:2740–2747
AlShahwan MA (2020) Prevalence and characteristics of body dysmorphic disorder in Arab dermatology patients. Saudi Med J 41:73–78
Veale D, Gledhill LJ, Christodoulou P, Hodsoll J (2016) Body dysmorphic disorder in different settings: a systematic review and estimated weighted prevalence. Body Image 18:168–186
Pereira IN, Chattopadhyay R, Fitzpatrick S, Nguyen S, Hassan H (2023) Evidence-based review: screening body dysmorphic disorder in aesthetic clinical settings. J Cosmet Dermatol 22:1951–1966
Sindi SA, Alghamdi M, Sindi EE, Bondagji MF, Baashar DS, Malibary JA et al (2023) The prevalence and characteristics of body dysmorphic disorder among adults in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study. Cureus. 15:e35316
Calderón P, Zemelman V, Sanhueza P, Castrillón M, Matamala J, Szot J (2009) Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in Chilean dermatological patients. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 23:1328
Morita MM, Merlotto MR, Dantas CL, Olivetti FH, Miot HA (2021) Prevalence and factors associated with body dysmorphic disorder in women under dermatological care at a Brazilian public institution. An Bras Dermatol 96:40–46
Alsaidan MS, Altayar NS, Alshmmari SH, Alshammari MM, Alqahtani FT, Mohajer KA (2020) The prevalence and determinants of body dysmorphic disorder among young social media users: a cross-sectional study. Dermatol Rep 12:8774
We Are Social (2023) Digital 2023 global overview report. Available from: https://wearesocial.com/us/blog/2023/01/the-changing-world-of-digital-in-2023/
Bartels SM, Martinez-Camblor P, Naslund JA, Suárez-Obando F, Torrey WC, Cubillos L et al (2021) A characterisation of social media users within the primary care system in Colombia and predictors of their social media use to understand their health. Rev Colomb Psiquiatr (Engl Ed). 50:42–51
Sharma GK, Asaria J (2021) The impact of COVID-19 on patient interest in facial plastic surgery. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 9:e3890
Joseph AW, Ishii L, Joseph SS, Smith JI, Su P, Bater K et al (2017) Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder and surgeon diagnostic accuracy in facial plastic and oculoplastic surgery clinics. JAMA Facial Plast Surg 19:269–274
Senín-Calderón C, Valdés-Díaz M, Benítez-Hernández MM, Núñez-Gaitán MC, Perona-Garcelán S, Martínez-Cervantes R et al (2017) Validation of Spanish language evaluation instruments for body dysmorphic disorder and the dysmorphic concern construct. Front Psychol 8:1107
Funding
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Patient consent
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Villafranca, J., Diaz, G., Rengifo, J. et al. Prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder in Private Aesthetic Clinical Settings in Four Latin American Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study. Aesth Plast Surg (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-024-04185-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-024-04185-w