Background: Emetophobia (fear of vomiting) is an anxiety disorder in which individuals report clinical levels of fear that they may vomit or be exposed to the vomit of others. The prevalence of comorbidity of emetophobia with other conditions has previously only been investigated using self-report instruments.
Method: Sixty-four adults with emetophobia participated in an online structured clinical diagnostic interview assessing the presence of emetophobia and other conditions.
Results: Higher comorbidity for depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder were found in participants compared with general population norms.
Conclusions: Emetophobia is commonly comorbid with other anxiety and depressive disorders. Comorbidity rates, when assessed using a structured clinical interview, were lower than previously reported using self-report alone. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message Emetophobia (specific phobia of vomiting) is a clinical fear of vomiting. Individuals with emetophobia show high comorbidity with other anxiety and mood disorders. The most common comorbid conditions were generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, hypochondriasis and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Clinicians should ensure that they assess for the presence of comorbid conditions when treating emetophobia.
Keywords: Anxiety Disorder; Comorbidity; Emetophobia; Fear of Vomiting; Specific Phobia.
Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.