Role of Body Image, Personality Traits, and Affective Temperaments in Filler Complications in Aesthetic Medicine in a female population

Background: Psychiatric disorders are frequently reported in patients requesting aesthetic treatments and the presence of psychopathological conditions can worsen aesthetic outcomes as well as psychiatric symptoms. Aim: Evaluating the correlation between the development of filler complications and the presence of body image distortions or specific personality traits or certain affective temperaments. Methods: Correlational analysis was performed in 19 women, using the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5), and the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego auto-questionnaire version (TEMPS-A). Results: Patients with filler complications had higher scores in Depersonalization dimension of the BUT-A, "Cyclothymic and Hyperthymic" affective temperaments, and “Negative Affectivity” domain facet of the PID-5. Moreover, it emerged that the Depressive temperament correlates with Weight Phobia (r = .581; p < 0.01) and Body Image Concerns (r = .467; p < 0.05); the Irritable temperament correlates with the “Antagonism” domain (r = .597; p < 0.01), while the anxious temperament correlates with the “Compulsive Self-Monitoring” (r = .508; p < 0.05). The “Negative Affectivity” domain of the PID-5 positively correlates with the dimensions of the BUT: “Weight Phobia” (r = .544; p < 0.05), “Avoidance” (r = .530; p < 0.05), and “Compulsive Self-Monitoring” (r = .509; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Given the correlation between filler complications and these psychopathological characteristics, it is worth to administer a pre-treatment assessment to recognize them. This could improve the professional-patient relationship and reduce filler complications, avoiding the worsening of psychiatric symptoms and obtaining a better prognosis.