Study of Obsessive Compulsive Beliefs: Relationship with Eating Disorders

Abstract

Background: The relationship between Eating Disorders (ED) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has been extensively studied in the last few years. However, little effort has been devoted to studying the link between these disorders with regard to their distorted beliefs. Aims: The first objective of the study was to analyze the differences in OCD-related beliefs among ED subtypes and the general population, controlling for age, Body Mass Index, and obsessionality. The second objective was to explore which OCD beliefs explain ED symptomatology. Method: Seventy-nine ED patients without OCD comorbidity, divided into diagnostic subtypes, and 50 community participants completed the Obsessive Beliefs Spanish Inventory-Revised and measures of ED and OCD symptomatology. Results: There were no differences found among clinical ED subtypes in obsessive beliefs, but the bulimia nervosa purgative subtype and binge eating groups obtained significantly different scores from the community group on Thought-Action-Fusion (TAF)-likelihood and TAF-moral, respectively. OCD symptomatology had the most important predictive effect on ED symptoms, followed by Overestimation of Threat, BMI and FPA-moral. Conclusions: The different patterns of beliefs among subtypes reflect what other studies have suggested about the relevance of the presentation of ED symptoms associated with restriction, purges and binge without purges. Our results agree with the transdiagnostic perspective of ED.