Personality as a Predictor of Treatment Response to Escitalopram in Adults With Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • OBJECTIVE: Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are the first-line pharmacotherapy for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a common and severe disorder. However, predictors and correlates of treatment response are not well understood. A closer examination of baseline personality dimensions and disorders and of changes in personality during SRI treatment is needed to advance knowledge of this clinically important issue. METHOD: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a pharmacotherapy relapse prevention trial of the SRI escitalopram in adults with BDD to examine personality dimensions and traits, as well as whether these variables predict and correlate with treatment response. A total of 65 participants with BDD completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) before starting open-label treatment with escitalopram and 42 participants completed the NEO PI-R after treatment. RESULTS: At baseline, participants with BDD displayed higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of extraversion than a normed reference group. Higher baseline neuroticism was a significant predictor of nonresponse to escitalopram treatment, even when baseline depression severity was controlled for. Changes in neuroticism were not associated with treatment response. CONCLUSION: Our findings underscore the relationship between BDD and neuroticism, and they suggest a link between neuroticism and SRI treatment response.

publication date

  • September 1, 2019

Research

keywords

  • Body Dysmorphic Disorders
  • Citalopram
  • Drug Monitoring
  • Neuroticism

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC6741445

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85072048063

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.jocrd.2014.04.004

PubMed ID

  • 31505519

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 25

issue

  • 5