An Epidemiological Study of Trichotillomania in Israeli Adolescents

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in the community: an epidemiologic survey with clinical reappraisal

“…Future investigators would also be well-advised to expand the scope of their studies to include so-called OCD spectrum disorders, such as trichotillomania, Tourette's disorder/chronic motor or vocal tics, and perhaps others (e.g., compulsive shopping, compulsive gambling, body dysmorphic disorder) (36)(37)(38)(39)(40). These studies, which should seek to incorporate state-of-theart measures of functional impairment and quality of life (e.g., the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-20 or Short Form-36) (34,41,42), will provide us with a comprehensive picture of the extent and severity of OCD and possible OCD variants in the community.…”

Body-focused repetitive behavior disorders in ICD-11

“…Epidemiological studies of trichotillomania are not nationally representative, but small studies examining the prevalence of trichotillomania among college students in the United States, adolescents in Israel, and older adults within the community have found current rates ranging from 0.5 to 2.0%. [2][3][4] Although the first well-described cases of trichotillomania in the 18th and 19th centuries focused on adolescent and young adult males, 5,6 it appears that trichotillomania is much more prevalent in females. 7,8 Hair pulling usually begins at a young age, between 10 and 13 years old, 9,10 and appears to have a similar presentation across cultures.…”

“…7,8 Hair pulling usually begins at a young age, between 10 and 13 years old, 9,10 and appears to have a similar presentation across cultures. 3,11 Any site may be the focus of pulling, but the scalp is the most common (72.8%), followed by the eyebrows (56.4%). 12,13 Triggers to pull include sensory (i.e., hair thickness, length, and location, physical sensations on scalp), emotional (i.e., feeling anxious, bored, tense, or angry), and cognitive (i.e., thoughts about hair and appearance, rigid thinking, and cognitive errors) cues.…”

Trichotillomania and related disorders in children and adolescents

“…3 In addition, males slightly outnumbered females in an epidemiological study of trichotillomania in adolescents. 4 The differences in the sex ratios between referred and nonreferred samples may reflect gender differences in age of onset, severity, comorbidity, or treatment-seeking behavior.…”

“…2' 5' 16 '7'8'9' 2~ A possible relationship between trichotillomania and the tic disorders has also been suggested by epidemiological and clinical data. 4,18 The DSM-IV characterizes trichotillomania as "recurrent pulling out of one's own hair for pleasure, gratification, or release of tension that results in noticeable hair loss" (p. 609). Consistent with its classification as an impulse control disorder, DSM-IV criteria further require an "increasing sense of tension immediately before pulling out the hair" followed by "pleasure, gratification, or relief when pulling out the hair" (p. 621).…”