Anoreixa Nervosa and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

I. Introduction

Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, have been hypothesized to have a relationship with obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, there remains a great amount of evidence in favor that anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder share more similarities than bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder. The implications of integrating eating disorders with obsessive-compulsive disorder to create a "family" of disorders called obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder will be discussed. There remain some differences between eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorders which further explore the correlation. Furthermore, review papers and primary research papers support that a correlation exists between eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorders, and the research acknowledges the differences between the two disorders. However, two primary research papers do not believe that there exists a correlation between the two disorders. In all, the implications of the relationship between the two diseases, the treatment of the two diseases, and suggestions for further and diverse research will be explored

II. The DSM-IV Definition of Anorexia Nervosa:

The DSM-IV definition of anorexia nervosa has four conditions. The definition states: "I) Refusal to maintain body weight for age and height; 2) intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight; 3) disturbance in the way in one's body weight, size, or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight; and 4) in females, ammenorrhea" (1). There remain two kinds of an nervosa as well the restricting ": "the person has not regularly engaged in binge-eating or purging behavior-" and the binge-eating/purging type.- "in which the person has regularly engaged in these behaviors" (1). Anorexia nervosa usually occurs during adolescence and in females. This definition becomes important in understanding the relationship between anorexia nervosa and obsessivecompulsive disorder.

III. The DSM-IV Definition of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders.

The DSM-IV definition of obsessive-compulsive disorder states: "an anxiety disorder, where it is defined as obsessions and/or compulsions that cause marked distress, are time-consuming, or interfere with functioning. Obsessions are defined as recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses or images that are experienced as invasiive and ego-dystonic and that cause anxiety or distress. Compulsions are defined as ritualistic behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be rigidly applied. The behavior or mental act is aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation and is recognized as excessive or unreasonable" (1).