Sociodemographic and Clinical Features of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in a Large Sample of Children and Adolescents from Turkey

Abstract

Objective: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a time-consuming and chronic disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions that can start before age of eighteen and can be associated with significant impairments in academic, social and family functioning. In this study, our aim was to evaluate sociodemographic characteristics, clinical pictures and comorbid diagnoses of a large sample of children and adolescents who were diagnosed with OCD according to diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV-TR in a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic of a University Hospital.

Methods: Patients who were first diagnosed at the study center with OCD according to DSM-IV-TR criteria were included. For inclusion, the primary diagnosis should be OCD as per DSM-IV-TR criteria and there must be concordance between at least 2 clinicians (one resident and the head of department) for diagnosis.

Results: 440 cases were included in our study and the most common obsessions in our sample were contamination with dirt (48.8%), and exactness (23.8%) and most common compulsions were ordering/checking (42.4%) and washing/cleaning (32.0%). Most of the patients in our sample (78.0%) had a comorbid diagnosis and most common comorbidities were Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (26.6%) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (20.5%).

Discussion: Accordingly, our results in terms of comorbidity, obsessions and compulsions are consistent with the literature. In conclusion, this is the largest study on a clinical sample of pediatric OCD from Turkey that we are aware of in terms of sample size, time frame and statistical power.