Long-term follow-up of acceptance-enhanced behavior therapy for trichotillomania.

Acceptance-enhanced behavior therapy for trichotillomania (AEBT-TTM) is effective in reducing trichotillomania (TTM) symptoms, but the durability of treatment effects remains in question. This study analyzed 6-month follow-up data from a large randomized clinical trial comparing AEBT-TTM to an active psychoeducation and supportive therapy control (PST). Adults with TTM (N=85; 92% women) received 10 sessions of AEBT-TTM or PST across 12 weeks. Independent evaluators assessed participants at baseline, post-treatment, and 6 months follow-up. For both AEBT-TTM and PST, self-reported and evaluator-rated TTM symptom severity decreased from baseline to follow-up. TTM symptoms did not worsen from post-treatment to follow-up. At follow-up, AEBT-TTM and PST did not differ in rates of treatment response, TTM diagnosis, or symptom severity. High baseline TTM symptom severity was a stronger predictor of high follow-up severity for PST than for AEBT-TTM, suggesting AEBT-TTM may be a better option for more severe TTM. Results support the efficacy of AEBT-TTM and show that treatment gains were maintained over time. Although AEBT-TTM yielded lower symptoms at post-treatment, 6-month follow-up outcomes suggest AEBT-TTM and PST may lead to similar symptom levels in the longer term. Future research should examine mechanisms that contribute to long-term gain maintenance.

Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes in a Naturalistic Setting.

Body-focused repetitive behavior disorders, including trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) and excoriation (skin picking) disorder, typically emerge in early adolescence, but little is known about the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of these disorders in young people, particularly in real-world clinical settings. Participants were 63 children and adolescents (51 girls; age range 9-17) with a diagnosis of trichotillomania (n = 33) and/or skin-picking disorder (n = 33) attending a specialist outpatient clinic in Stockholm, Sweden. Demographic and clinical characteristics were gathered at the initial assessment. Of the 63 assessed youths, 56 received manual-based behavior therapy mainly focusing on habit reversal training, which was combined with medication when deemed appropriate. The mean clinician-reported trichotillomania and skin-picking disorder symptom severity at baseline (n = 63) was in the moderate range. We observed high rates of psychiatric comorbidity (63.5%) and use of psychiatric medication (54.8%). For the 56 individuals undertaking treatment at the clinic, mixed-effects regression models showed a significant decrease in symptom severity from baseline to posttreatment, with gains maintained up to the 12-month follow-up. Substantial and durable improvements were also seen on self-reported symptoms, self-reported depression, and global functioning. Specialist care should be made more widely available to improve the prognosis and quality of life of young people with trichotillomania and skin-picking disorder.

Impulsivity in adolescent girls diagnosed with trichotillomania: an evaluation of clinical and neuropsychological characteristics.

The aim of this study is to compare the clinical and neuropsychological features of impulsivity in adolescent girls with trichotillomania (TTM) and healthy controls, and to assess the relationships between the severity of TTM and the impulsivity/concomitant symptoms of anxiety and depression. The study sample consisted of 43 adolescent girls who were 12 to 18 years old. The Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version DSM-5 (K-SADS-PL) was administered to the adolescents and their parents. All of the participants completed a sociodemographic data form, the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale-Child Version (RCADS-CV), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Brief (BIS-Brief), and the Massachusetts General Hospital Hairpulling Scale (MGH-HPS). The Eriksen Flanker task, the Stop Signal Reaction Time (SSRT) task, the Go/No-Go task, and the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) were used to assess behavioral impulsivity. The adolescents with TTM reported higher levels of impulsivity and anxiety/depression symptoms than the healthy controls, and they also performed worse on the behavioral tasks. While there were no relationships between clinical and behavioral impulsivity and TTM severity, social anxiety symptoms were the most important predictor of the severity of TTM. It seems important to better understand the role of impulsivity in the onset and persistence of TTM symptoms in adolescents.

Oral Trichogranuloma in an Asian 12-Year-Old Female With Trichotillomania.

Pilonidal sinus is an acquired chronic inflammatory condition associated with the penetration of hair fragments into the skin. In the pathogenesis of most of these cases, a traumatic event initiates the process allowing the introduction of the hairs into the skin. We report an unusual case of acquired pilonidal sinus as a consequence of the unconscious habit of chewing on the hairs in a 12-year-old girl. Although most commonly located in the gluteal cleft, it has been reported in several areas of the body (including face), but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the oral cavity. Our case presented as a palatal and vestibular fistula in a patient who suffered from an undiagnosed peculiar form of hair pulling disorder that involved hair chewing but not trichophagia.

A case of Rapunzel syndrome.

Rapunzel syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by a trichobezoar in the gastroduodenal tract caused by trichophagia. Diagnosis was confirmed by upper endoscopy and treatment was surgical.

Disorders of impulsivity in trichotillomania and skin picking disorder.

Trichotillomania and skin picking disorder are often classified as body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) as they are characterized by repetitive hair-pulling and skin picking, respectively. They were initially considered to be impulse control disorders despite little research scrutiny. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of these two conditions to other disorders with impulsive features. Adults with trichotillomania (n = 104) and skin picking (n = 178) or both (n = 96) were recruited from the general community using advertisements and online support groups and completed an online survey. Participants undertook a structured clinical interview and completion of self-report instruments to characterize clinical profiles and associated characteristics. In addition, each participant completed the Minnesota Impulse Disorders Interview to screen for disorders with impulsive features. Of the 378 adults with BFRBs, 134 (35.4%) screened positive for at least one disorder with features of impulsivity with the most common being compulsive buying (18.3%) and problematic use of the internet (17.5%). Participants with a co-occurring disorder of impulsivity reported significantly worse pulling and picking symptoms (p < .001), were more likely to have co-occurring alcohol problems (p < .001) and PTSD (p < .001), and scored higher regarding dissociative symptoms (p < .001). BFRBs are associated with a range of impulsive disorders and the comorbidity may have important treatment implications.

Recent advances in trichotillomania: a narrative review.

Trichotillomania, defined as the compulsive pulling out of one's hair, is a psychocutaneous condition associated with functional impairment and decreased quality of life. The pathophysiology of trichotillomania is poorly understood and likely multifactorial, involving alterations in both neural activity and cognitive function. Behavioral treatment options for trichotillomania are limited and are often only modestly effective. Moreover, there are no medications currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its treatment. The gaps in knowledge regarding the neurological underpinnings and behavioral markers of trichotillomania and effective treatment options for it highlight the importance of ongoing research in this field. For this narrative review, PubMed was searched to identify articles related to trichotillomania published until July 2023. Recent advances in research on trichotillomania pathophysiology, diagnosis, clinical associations, and treatment are presented, with particular focus on how this condition uniquely spans the disciplines of both psychiatry and dermatology.

Clinical characteristics of trichotillomania.

BACKGROUND: Trichotillomania is a common psychiatric disorder classified as an obsessive-compulsive and related condition in DSM-5. Despite being first described in the 1800s, little is known about its phenomenology and clinical presentation. Most information about trichotillomania is based on small samples. METHODS: Clinical and demographic data were collected from 858 individuals with trichotillomania who participated in research studies that used in-person assessments with validated instruments. RESULTS: A total of 858 adolescents and adults (mean age 29.3; range 11 to 65; 89.9% female) were recruited. The peak age of symptom onset was 11 to 15, and most affected individuals (93.5%) had symptom onset before age 20. Individuals reported pulling from several body sites, and the most frequent triggers were stress and the feel of their hair. Comorbidities included major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and skin picking disorder. Most individuals with trichotillomania (61.7%) previously had received treatment. Among those who had received treatment, more individuals had received medication (43.4%) than psychotherapy (33.0%). CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds new light on the clinical presentation and phenomenology of trichotillomania. Results highlight the need for further research into its clinical presentation, longitudinal course, and optimal treatment approaches.

Hair pulling disorder and skin picking disorder have relatively limited associations with negative emotionality: A meta-analytic comparison across obsessive-compulsive and related disorders.

The obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRD) chapter in DSM-5 includes two relatively distinct groups of disorders: (1) Compulsive disorders [i.e., obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), hoarding disorder (HD)] and (2) grooming disorders [i.e., skin picking disorder (SPD) and hair pulling disorder (HPD)]. The two groups may relate differently with negative emotionality; however, the literature has produced mixed findings. The current study sought to quantify the concurrent association between negative emotionality and each of the five OCRDs. We conducted systematic reviews of research reporting correlations between (1) negative emotionality (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress, negative affect, and neuroticism) and (2) severity of OCRD symptoms in both clinical and non-clinical adult samples. We used three-level meta-analytic models to estimate the size of the correlations. Negative emotionality had robust positive correlation with symptoms of OCD [k = 156, r = 0.44, 95% CI= 0.43-0.46], BDD [k = 58, r = 0.45, 95% CI= 0.43-48], and HD [k = 67, r = 0.39, 95% CI= 0.36-0.42] but significantly smaller correlation with SPD [k = 31, r = 0.31, 95% CI= 0.27-0.34] and HPD [k = 24, r = 0.28, 95% CI= 0.25-0.32]. Overall, the results indicate that grooming disorders have relatively limited associations with negative emotionality. Implications for classification of OCRDs within the broader taxonomy of psychopathology are discussed.

Hazardous Alcohol Use in Trichotillomania.

Trichotillomania is a prevalent mental health condition characterized by repetitive hair-pulling. Its relationship to alcohol use problems has received virtually no research scrutiny. Adults with trichotillomania (n = 121) were recruited from the general community, along with 66 healthy controls for reference purposes (in terms of overall levels of hazardous drinking). Participants undertook structured clinical interview and completion of self-report instruments to characterize clinical profiles and associated characteristics. In the trichotillomania sample, we compared variables of interest between those with past-year hazardous alcohol use and those without. Of the 121 adults with trichotillomania, 16 (13.2%) scored ≥ 8 on the AUDIT indicating hazardous alcohol use as compared to 5 (7.5%) of the healthy controls - this difference was not statistically significant. In trichotillomania cases, past year hazardous drinking was associated with significantly higher trait impulsivity, but not with differences in the other variables that were examined. This study highlights the importance of screening for alcohol use problems in people with trichotillomania. More research is needed into this comorbid presentation, including work to explore the impact of hazardous alcohol use on clinical treatment outcomes, as well as how treatments might best be adapted to treat individuals affected by both disorders.

Self-Help Habit Replacement in Individuals With Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors: A Proof-of-Concept Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs; eg, skin picking) encompass a set of conditions at the interface of dermatology and psychiatry/psychology. The disorder is prevalent but currently underdiagnosed and undertreated. Objective: To compare a new self-help intervention, habit replacement, against a wait-list control condition for the treatment of BFRBs. Design, Setting, and Participants: This randomized clinical trial was conducted online in 2022. Participants were a population-based nonclinical sample with BFRBs and were recruited via social media. Initially, 481 individuals entered the assessment; 213 were excluded blind to results. A final sample of 268 participants were randomized. The intervention period was 6 weeks. Interventions: Participants were randomized to a self-help intervention, habit replacement, or a wait-list control condition (each n = 134). Main Outcomes and Measures: The Generic BFRB Scale-45 (GBS-45, self-report) represented the primary outcome. Results: Individuals in the 2 conditions (n = 268; 241 [89.9%] women; mean [SD] age, 36.8 [11.1] years; skin picking, 68.3%; trichotillomania, 28.4%; nail biting, 36.6%; lip-cheek biting, 26.1%; other, 20.1%) did not differ on any baseline characteristics. The experimental group significantly improved on the primary outcome (GBS-45) for both the per-protocol (technique was used at least once weekly, ηp2 = 0.068, P = .001) and the intention-to-treat analyses relative to the wait-list control group (expectation-maximization algorithm; ηp2 = 0.019, P = .02). The interaction of group and time yielded statistical trends in favor of the experimental condition only on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and quality of life. For the Clinical Global Impressions scale, more individuals in the habit replacement group reported improvement (52.8% vs 19.6%; P < .001). User satisfaction in the habit replacement group was high. Moderation analyses that included all baseline variables showed that those who exhibited nail biting particularly benefited from the new technique. Conclusions and Relevance: The present proof-of-concept randomized clinical trial tentatively demonstrates that habit replacement is a feasible and effective self-help strategy against BFRBs, especially for nail biting. Study limitations include the lack of external assessment and verified diagnoses. In addition, the study is missing follow-up data. Self-help habit replacement shows promise in reducing BFRBs but not concomitant symptoms. Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register Identifier: DRKS00030511.

Latent class analysis of emotions experienced during compulsive hair-pulling episodes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Reasons for compulsive hair pulling are heterogeneous and not fully understood. Given that many people who experience compulsive hair pulling do not respond to treatment, identifying subgroups can inform potential mechanisms and treatment design. METHODS: We sought to identify empirical subgroups among participants in an online treatment program for trichotillomania (N = 1728). A latent class analysis was used to identify patterns of emotions associated with compulsive hair-pulling episodes. RESULTS: Six classes of participants were found which reflected three predominant themes. One theme reflected expected patterns, where emotional changes were seen following pulling. Two other themes were more surprising, where one reflected high overall emotional activation that did not show consistent change in response to pulling, and another showed low emotional activation overall. These results suggest that there are multiple types of hair-pulling and a sizeable group of people may benefit from treatment adjustments. LIMITATIONS: Participants did not receive semi-structured diagnostic assessment. A majority of participants were Caucasian, and future research would benefit from increased participant diversity. Emotions associated with compulsive hair-pulling were measured across an entire treatment program, but the relationship between specific intervention components and change in specific emotions was not systematically collected. CONCLUSIONS: While previous research has addressed overall phenomenology and comorbidity, the present study is the first to identify empirical subgroups of people who experience compulsive hair-pulling at the level of individual pulling episodes. Identified participant classes had distinguishing features that can aid in personalizing treatment to individual symptom presentations.

Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study of Memantine in Trichotillomania and Skin-Picking Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Trichotillomania and skin-picking disorder are underrecognized and often disabling conditions in which individuals repeatedly pull at their hair or pick at their skin, leading to noticeable hair loss or tissue damage. To date there is a severe paucity of evidence-based treatments for these conditions. In this study, the authors sought to determine whether memantine, a glutamate modulator, is more effective than placebo in reducing hair-pulling and skin-picking behavior. METHODS: One hundred adults with trichotillomania or skin-picking disorder (86 women; mean age, 31.4 years [SD=10.2]) were enrolled in a double-blind trial of memantine (dosing range, 10-20 mg/day) or placebo for 8 weeks. Participants were assessed with measures of pulling and picking severity. Outcomes were examined using a linear mixed-effects model. The prespecified primary outcome measure was treatment-related change on the NIMH Trichotillomania Symptom Severity Scale, modified to include skin picking. RESULTS: Compared with placebo, memantine treatment was associated with significant improvements in scores on the NIMH scale, Sheehan Disability Scale, and Clinical Global Impressions severity scale in terms of treatment-by-time interactions. At study endpoint, 60.5% of participants in the memantine group were "much or very much improved," compared with 8.3% in the placebo group (number needed to treat=1.9). Adverse events did not differ significantly between the treatment arms. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that memantine treatment resulted in statistically significant reductions in hair pulling and skin-picking symptoms compared with placebo, with relatively high efficacy (based on number needed to treat), and was well tolerated. The glutamate system may prove to be a beneficial target in the treatment of compulsive behaviors.

Addressing body-focused repetitive behaviors in the dermatology practice.

Dermatologists are often the first to treat the medical consequences of body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) such as hair pulling, skin picking, and others. BFRBs are still under-recognized, and effectiveness of treatments is known only in limited circles. Patients exhibit varied presentations of BFRBs and repeatedly engage in these despite the physical and functional impairments. Dermatologists are uniquely placed to guide patients lacking knowledge about BFRBs and experiencing stigma, shame, and isolation. We provide an overview of the current understanding of the nature and management of BFRBs. Clinical suggestions for diagnosing and educating patients about their BFRBs and resources for patients to seek support are shared. Most importantly, with patients' readiness for change, dermatologists can guide patients toward specific resources for self-monitoring their ABC (antecedents, behaviors, consequences) cycles of BFRBs and recommend specialized treatment options.

Amelioration of trichotillomania with onabotulinumtoxinA for chronic migraine.

We report a case of a woman in her 30s who struggled with a life-long history of trichotillomania (TTM; hair-pulling disorder), which was unsuccessfully treated with behavioural therapy and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. In addition to TTM, our patient had a history of chronic migraine which brought her to our clinic, and treatment with onabotulinumtoxinA (OBTA) was initiated per the Phase III REsearch Evaluating Migraine Prophylaxis Therapy protocol. After experiencing improvement with migraine symptoms, she began off-label treatment with OBTA for her TTM with 45 units being injected, 5 units per site, in diffuse regions of her scalp, primarily on the affected areas of TTM-induced alopecia. The patient reported marked improvement in her TTM signs and symptoms, which resulted in hair regrowth as early as the first follow-up visit 12 weeks post-treatment initiation. Treatment effects were maintained, and additional hair regrowth was observed at the 1-year post-treatment visit, which equated to four cycles of treatment.

An atypical death from Rapunzel syndrome: a case report.

Trichotillomania is a psychiatric disorder characterized by recurring urges to pulling out hairs, eyelashes, or down in other parts of the body. Trichophagia, which is the urge to ingesting the pulled-out hairs, can cause Rapunzel syndrome, an unusual disorder where gastric trichobezoars can be found in the small intestine. Trichobezoars, amorphous masses composed of undigested food formed by hairs, can obstruct the gastrointestinal tract up to simulating symptoms typical of bowel obstruction. Rapunzel syndrome, named after Grimm's tale, may cause death, especially in the pediatric population, being it seldom over the age of 6; moreover, developing countries and environmental and familiar issues are listed as uncertain risk factors. The present case report deals with the death of a 4-year-old female occurred after lunch and following a series of vomit events; while no traumatic or pathological findings were revealed at the external examination, the autopsy revealed three large trichobezoars localized in the stomach and the small intestine. Despite death was due to gastrointestinal obstruction for multiple trichobezoars and collateral bronchoaspiration of dietary material, histological findings were totally non-specific, meaning that it is sometimes difficult to conclude that death is related to the primary pathological condition.

Characteristics of trichotillomania and excoriation disorder across the lifespan.

Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) and excoriation (skin-picking) disorder are body-focused repetitive behaviors, which often first present in adolescence and cause distress and impairment into adulthood. Few studies have examined the clinical characteristics of the co-occurrence of these conditions across the lifespan. We examined cross-sectional survey responses collected from April 2018-February 2020 to evaluate the relationship between trichotillomania, excoriation disorder, and their co-occurrence. Responses from individuals with trichotillomania (n = 50), excoriation disorder (n = 52), and both conditions (n = 50) ages 4-67 years old were compared for co-occurring conditions and current symptoms. Self-report measures of hair-pulling and skin-picking severity and subtypes were assessed. Gender, race, and co-occurring conditions were generally similarly distributed across the three groups with high rates of self-reported anxiety (63-82%), depression (34-50%), obsessive-compulsive disorder (16-29%), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (12-32%). Among individuals with both trichotillomania and excoriation disorder, significant positive correlations were observed between hair-pulling and skin-picking severity scores as well as hair-pulling and skin-picking subtypes. Hair-pulling and skin-picking severity peaked at the transition from adolescence to adulthood and hair-pulling/skin-picking styles appeared to shift across the lifespan. Our results support several similarities between trichotillomania and excoriation disorder, providing new insight into the clinical characteristics of these conditions.

Prevalence and Correlates of Hair Pulling Disorder and Skin Picking Disorder in an Acute Psychiatric Sample.

ABSTRACT: Hair pulling disorder (HPD; trichotillomania) and skin picking disorder (SPD; excoriation disorder) are understudied psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of HPD and SPD in an acute psychiatric sample. Semistructured interviews and self-report measures were administered to patients in a psychiatric partial hospital (N = 599). The past-month prevalence of HPD and SPD was 2.3% and 9%, respectively. HPD and SPD had highly similar clinical characteristics and a strong co-occurrence. Patients with HPD/SPD were significantly younger than other patients and more likely to be female. Logistic regression controlling for age and sex showed that diagnosis of HPD/SPD was not significantly associated with suicidal ideation, suicidal behaviors, nonsuicidal self-injury, or emotional disorder diagnoses (e.g., borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder). HPD/SPD status was significantly associated with an increased risk of generalized anxiety disorder. However, patients with HPD/SPD did not differ from other patients on self-report measures of generalized anxiety, depression, and distress intolerance. HPD and SPD are common and frequently co-occurring disorders in psychiatric settings.