Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) has a significant impact on the patients’ quality of life (QOL). This is an initial literature review of QOL in patients with BDD, examining the extent of QOL impairments, the impact of psychiatric comorbidity on QOL, and the effect of treatment on QOL in BDD. Studies were identified through PubMed, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO searches from 1960–2011 using the keywords: “quality of life,” “body dysmorphic disorder,” “dysmorphophobia,” and “body image.” Studies included in this review were selected using specific criteria by two authors reaching consensus. Most BDD research studies have used symptom severity measures mainly to study BDD and its treatments. BBD with or without comorbidities is significantly associated with poor QOL and functioning. Studies show that treatment of BDD, either by psychopharmacological treatments such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or cognitive behavior therapy, might have positive effects on QOL, although these results need to be replicated in larger studies. In conclusion, QOL could add significant value to the assessment of BDD if used as one of the primary measures in research and clinical work in BDD, by providing more information and clearer understanding on the impact of the illness on satisfaction with activities of daily life and overall sense of wellbeing before and after treatment.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD, previously called dysmorphophobia) is an excessive preoccupation with trivial or non-existent physical abnormalities, perceived to be deformities. BDD causes significant distress or functional impairment and is both time-consuming and difficult to control. Feelings of low self-esteem, shame, embarrassment and unworthiness are common, as is fear of rejection. This report presents a case of BDD in a young male who sought surgery abroad in an effort to ameliorate his perceived deformity. His suicidal ideation, low mood and anxiety symptoms responded well to venlafaxine, olanzapine and cognitive behavioural therapy; however his overvalued ideas with regard to his physical appearance were slow to improve.

Although body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is receiving increasing empirical attention, very little is known about neuropsychological deficits in this disorder. The current study investigated the nature of memory dysfunction in BDD, including the relationship between encoding strategies and verbal and nonverbal memory performance. We evaluated 17 patients with BDD and 17 healthy controls using the Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) and the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). BDD patients differed significantly from healthy controls on verbal and nonverbal learning and memory indices. Multiple regression analyses revealed that group differences in free recall were statistically mediated by deficits in organizational strategies in the BDD cohort. These findings are similar to patterns previously observed in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), suggesting a potential relationship between OCD and BDD. Studies in both groups have shown that verbal and nonverbal memory deficits are affected by impaired strategic processing. (JINS, 2000, 6, 673–681.)

The Psychoanalytic Deficiency Theory of the Schizophrenias postulates that the symptomatology results from psychical dissolution. Its claim for credibility rests on the range of the clinical observations which it embraces – from the prodromal symptoms to the variety of courses which the schizophrenias follow. The fate of the prodromal symptoms, often indistinguishable from neurotic manifestations, suggest that dissolution and not mental conflict is responsible. The deficiency theory acknowledges the part played by phantasy and conflict in creating the content of delusions. Their form can only be determined by psychical dissolution. The therapeutic approach based on the deficiency theory is to strengthen the residues of the patient's healthy mental life within the context of the psychiatrist-patient and nurse-patient relationship in order to encourage insight into the falsifications and misinterpretations of reality which have contributed to the symptoms.