Transcranial magnetic stimulation and processing of facial threats.

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org ment Statistics survey (2). This survey collects nationwide occupational data (excluding self-employment) based on the government-wide Standard Occupational Classification system. Because this system does not report adequately detailed statistics for several of the artist categories used by Dr. Veale and colleagues, we made several assumptions to derive our estimate (for example, the Occupational Employment Statistics survey reports the number of postsecondary art, music, or drama teachers, which we divided by 3 to derive an estimate for art teachers). Because of insufficient detail, several teacher categories were excluded from our analyses, so our estimated rate of artists in the general population is likely an underestimate. Of the 146 subjects with body dysmorphic disorder, 1.4% (N=2) (95% confidence interval [CI], 0%–3.3%) were currently employed as artists. The estimated rate in the general population was 0.64% (753,283 of 117,006,770) (95% CI=0%–1.4%). Thus, the proportion of subjects with body dysmorphic disorder who were employed as artists was approximately twice that in the general population. Our rate of 1.4% cannot be directly compared to the rate of Dr. Veale et al. of 20% because their rate includes education in art/design, which we did not assess. Nor is our rate directly comparable to the employment rate of 7% of Dr. Veale et al. because we assessed only current—not lifetime—occupation. Nonetheless, our rate is notably lower than that of Dr. Veale et al.; however, it is still higher than that in the general population and thus offers modest support for the hypothesis that body dysmorphic disorder is associated with employment as an artist. Our findings are based on a small group, however, and should be considered preliminary. Further research is needed to elucidate factors that may contribute to body dysmorphic disorder’s development, as this important topic has received little investigation.