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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 May 30:239:12-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.02.063. Epub 2016 Mar 2.

Comorbidity and quality of life in adults with hair pulling disorder

David C Houghton  1 , Joyce Maas  2 , Michael P Twohig  3 , Stephen M Saunders  4 , Scott N Compton  5 , Angela M Neal-Barnett  6 , Martin E Franklin  7 , Douglas W Woods  8
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Comorbidity and quality of life in adults with hair pulling disorder

David C Houghton et al. Psychiatry Res. .

Abstract

Hair pulling disorder (HPD; trichotillomania) is thought to be associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity and functional impairment. However, few methodologically rigorous studies of HPD have been conducted, rendering such conclusions tenuous. The following study examined comorbidity and psychosocial functioning in a well-characterized sample of adults with HPD (N=85) who met DSM-IV criteria, had at least moderate hair pulling severity, and participated in a clinical trial. Results revealed that 38.8% of individuals with HPD had another current psychiatric diagnosis and 78.8% had another lifetime (present and/or past) psychiatric diagnosis. Specifically, HPD showed substantial overlap with depressive, anxiety, addictive, and other body-focused repetitive behavior disorders. The relationships between certain comorbidity patterns, hair pulling severity, current mood and anxiety symptoms, and quality of life were also examined. Results showed that current depressive symptoms were the only predictor of quality of life deficits. Implications of these findings for the conceptualization and treatment of HPD are discussed.

Keywords: Comorbidity; Depression; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Quality of life; Trichotillomania.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

Drs. Twohig and Woods receive royalties from Oxford University Press for their published treatment guide for Trichotillomania. Dr. Woods has also received funding from the Trichotillomania Learning Center. Drs. Franklin, Neal-Barnett, and Saunders and Mr. Houghton and Ms. Maas report no financial conflicts of interest.

We would like to report that this study was supported by the NIMH of the National Institutes of Health under Award number grant R01MH080966 (Woods: PI). The funding organization was not involved in the design and conduct of the study. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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