Objective: Despite some empirical evidence suggesting an association between primary OCD and eating disorder (ED) within the 'obsessive-compulsive spectrum', the relationship at a symptomatological level has not been investigated.
Method: First, comparisons of Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) scores between 61 patients with primary OCD and 288 control subjects were performed. Secondly, the associations between EDI subscores and Hamburg Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (HZI) dimensions in OCD patients were investigated by multiple regression analyses, controlling for the impact of general psychopathology.
Results: The OCD patients showed significantly higher EDI-scores than controls. However, only distinct OCD symptom dimensions were significantly associated with the core symptoms of ED in females.
Conclusion: Our results point to a differential gender and symptom-specific relationship between OCD and ED, calling into question a simple dimensional conceptualization of the 'obsessive-compulsive spectrum'.