Cognitive and behavioral therapies reduced body dysmorphic disorder symptoms in pooled trials
A trial review reported lower symptom severity and benefits at follow-up, with similar reported dropout and adverse-event rates between groups.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Across the trials, cognitive and behavioral interventions reduced body dysmorphic disorder symptom severity compared with controls. Benefits were also reported at follow-up, whose timing was unspecified. Dropout rates and adverse events were described as similar between groups, but that does not establish equivalent safety or show that all included therapies work equally well.
The abstract does not describe control conditions in detail, follow-up lengths or adverse-event counts. It groups several interventions together, limiting conclusions about any particular therapy or uncommon harms.
What researchers found
Body dysmorphic disorder symptom severity
Reported as favoring intervention over controls not receiving it; treatment periods ranged from 2 to 36 weeks.
Understanding the symptom measure
The main outcome was symptom severity on a version of the Yale-Brown scale adapted for body dysmorphic disorder. A standardized mean difference expresses effects in standardized units, rather than raw questionnaire points or percentage improvement.
Other outcomes also changed
The review also reported improvements in depression, anxiety, beliefs and quality of life, plus higher odds of remission. These additional outcomes do not reveal which type of intervention contributed most to the overall result.
The original publication
Efficacy and safety of cognitive and behavioral interventions in treating body dysmorphic disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Ko YC, Lee CH, Wu CS et al.
Gen Hosp Psychiatry · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41353818
- Record checked
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