Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder and its association with mental health status among medical and dental students in Bangladesh

The prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is becoming a significant concern, especially among adolescents and young adults, which sometimes leads to anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and suicidal ideation. We aimed to explore the prevalence of BDD and its association with mental health status among medical and dental students in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted among Bangladeshi medical and dental students from January to May 2024. Body dysmorphic disorder was measured by using the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ), and PHQ-9, GAD-7, and Rosenberg self-esteem scale determined mental health status. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 25. Poisson regression presented as prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with a p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained from North South University, and consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. The overall prevalence of BDD was found to be 22.5%. The result of Poisson regression analysis showed that students from public institutes had a 1.84 times higher prevalence of BDD than those from public institutes (95% CI: 1.33–2.55; p < 0.001). Students from the clinical year had a 1.38 times higher prevalence of BDD compared to the students in the pre-clinical year (95% CI:1.01–1.94; p = < 0.05). Students who were obese had a 2.54 times higher prevalence of BDD than those who were underweight (95% CI: 1.36–4.77; p < 0.001). Students who used alcohol had 3.64 times higher prevalence of BDD than that of students who did not have any addiction or dependency (95% CI: 1.32–10.03). Those who exercised or participated in physical activity had 28% lower prevalence of BDD (95% CI: 0.53–0.96; p = 0.031). Participants with mild depression had a 2.03 times higher prevalence of BDD (95% CI: 1.15–3.60, p = 0.015) than those with no depression. However, no significant association was observed in the case of anxiety and self-esteem levels. The prevalence of BDD was high among medical and dental students in Bangladesh. Several factors, such as the type of institute, academic year, BMI, addiction/dependence habit, physical activity/exercise and depression severity were significantly associated with BDD.