Diagnostic interview assessed neuropsychiatric disorder comorbidity in 334 individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

Is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) a discrete disorder? Three hundred thirty-four individuals with OCD were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID). Results demonstrate that OCD is highly comorbid with other neuropsychiatric disorders, with 92% of OCD study participants receiving one or more additional Axis I DSM diagnoses. Among these additional diagnoses, lifetime mood disorders (81%) and anxiety disorders (53%) were the most prevalent. With the exception of substance-related disorders and specific phobias, all disorders assessed were found in considerably higher frequency than in the general population, indicating that OCD is associated with highly complex comorbidity. These data have implications for genetic studies of OCD and disorders related to OCD, as well as for specific psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacologic interventions.

A Large Case–Control Study of Common Functional SLC6A4 and BDNF Variants in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

“…High comorbidity between OCD and other anxiety disorders, which was notable in an earlier study in a smaller sample of this cohort of OCD patients (LaSalle et al, 2004), was found in the present study to be significantly associated with both SLC6A4 promotor-region variants, alone and together, with the strongest statistical association being driven by rs25531. Since these two variants interact functionally, this raises the question of whether previous observations of variability in associations between OCD and 5-HTTLPR alone might have been contributed to by different frequencies of comorbid disorders in the diverse OCD populations investigated.…”

“…Inclusion criteria for participation included being at least 18 years old and having a primary OCD diagnosis based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Exclusion criteria included active schizophrenia or psychosis, severe mental retardation that does not permit an evaluation to characterize OCD, or OCD symptoms that occur exclusively in the context of depression (LaSalle et al, 2004). Peripheral blood was collected by venipuncture after written informed consent.…”

Autism spectrum traits in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

“…ASD is frequently a co-morbid problem in OCD, both in pediatric (Ivarsson et al, 2007) and in adult populations (LaSalle et al, 2004), at levels that exceeds those that are found in the general population (Ehlers & Gillberg, 1993) (for a review see (Williams et al, 2006)). Also, family members of ASD probands show compulsive personality traits, something that further emphasizes the link between the disorders.…”

Functional SLITRK1 var321, varCDfs and SLC6A4 G56A variants and susceptibility to obsessive-compulsive disorder

“…7 Further details including rates of comorbidities have been reported elsewhere. 8 MO, USA). As these two groups were not clinically evaluated, we cannot rule out the possibility of individuals present in the control sample with OCD or OC symptoms, although this fraction is unlikely to be higher than the general population prevalence of 2-3%.…”