Clinical features, prevalence and psychiatric complaints in subjects with fear of vomiting.

UNLABELLED: Specific phobia of vomiting (also known as emetophobia) is a relatively understudied phobia with respect to its aetiology, clinical features and treatment. In this stage, research is mostly based on people with self-reported fear of vomiting. This paper presents a survey on the clinical features of fear of vomiting of individuals. Self-reported vomit-fearful subjects from the Dutch community and from an Internet support group are included. Both vomit-fearful groups were characterized by high reports of fear, the presence of panic symptoms, and by extensive avoidance and safety behaviours. They also reported other psychiatric complaints, which were measured with a structured screening instrument. Vomiting complaints started mostly in late puberty. A significant proportion of the vomit-fearful participants had a treatment history. The prevalence rate of fear of vomiting in the community sample was established at 8.8% (female : male ratio = 4:1). Overall, results show that fear of vomiting is a common phenomenon, which can seriously impair daily functioning. Finally, clinical questions to be addressed in future research are formulated. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: Specific phobia of vomiting (also known as emetophobia) is among the least studied phobias. Most clinical data come from research with self-described fear of vomiting. This paper presents data on the clinical features, prevalence and additional psychiatric complaints of fear of vomiting in two vomit-fearful samples and one control sample with no fear of vomiting. Estimates of prevalence of fear of vomiting in a Dutch community sample were established at 1.8% for men and 7% for women. Evidence suggests that fear of vomiting is a chronic and disabling condition that may cause significant impairment in daily functioning.