People with BDD have very poor quality of life. Most feel distressed, don’t get much enjoyment or satisfaction from life, and have difficulty functioning at work, in school, socially, and in other important areas of their life.

I’ve studied quality of life in my two series of people with BDD. Both studies used a standard and widely used questionnaire—the SF-36 (also known as the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey). The people in these studies reported unusually poor mental health status and mental health-related quality of life (which reflects psychological distress, problems functioning in one’s role because of emotional problems, and social functioning). The more severe the person’s BDD symptoms, the poorer his or her quality of life. When compared to published norms, mental health-related quality of life for people with BDD is much poorer than for the general U.S. population. As figure 3 shows, it’s also worse than for people with an acute medical condition (a recent heart attack) or a chronic medical condition (type II diabetes). It’s even poorer than for people with depression.

My second series of people with BDD also completed the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q). On this questionnaire, too, people with BDD reported unusually poor quality of life. As Figure 4 (p. 132) shows, scores were very poor in all areas that the questionnaire assesses: emotional well-being, general functioning, work, school, household functioning, social functioning, leisure, and physical health. The more severe the person’s BDD symptoms, the poorer their quality of life tended to be. When compared to a sample of people from the community, 96% of community subjects scored better than the average BDD score. Importantly, scores for people with BDD were also poorer than have been reported for people with major depression, chronic major depression, dysthymia, obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia, panic disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. These research results underscore the fact that BDD is a severe illness that needs to be taken seriously.

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