Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose of Review This systematic review evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on obsessive-compulsive symptoms.Recent Findings Most studies showed that obsessive-compulsive symptoms worsened during the early stages of the pandemic, particularly for individuals with contamination-related obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), though other symptoms dimensions were found to worsen as well. Many patients and individuals in the general population experienced new obsessive-compulsive-like symptoms centered on COVID-19. Self-reported rates of symptom exacerbation and COVID-19-focused symptoms were consistently lower in studies that recruited patients from specialty clinics (compared to online samples). Most studies were conducted in Spring/Summer, 2020. Summary The COVID-19 pandemic has been an enormous stressor for individuals with OCD, especially for those with contamination symptoms. Regardless, there is strong reason to believe gold standard treatment approaches for OCD have maintained strong efficacy. Disseminating and effectively delivering evidence-based treatments for OCD is an urgent public health priority. KeywordsOCD • Contamination • Exposure and response prevention • Cognitive-behavioral therapy • Serotonin reuptake inhibitors This article is part of the Topical collection on Anxiety Disorders

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Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the “COVID Stress Scales” in Greek

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Cognitive Training via a Mobile Application to Reduce Obsessive-Compulsive-Related Distress and Cognitions During the COVID-19 Outbreaks: A Randomized Controlled Trial Using a Subclinical Cohort

“…Fear of infection, germs, contamination, and cleaning compulsions are some of the most frequently reported OCD symptoms ( Abramowitz et al, 2010 , Cordeiro et al, 2015 ). Recent empirical evidence suggests that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant stressor for individuals with OCD and has been associated with increased severity of obsessions and compulsions, particularly, for those with pre-existing contamination symptoms ( Alonso et al, 2021 , Benatti et al, 2020 , Guzick et al, 2021 , Jelinek et al, 2021 , Tanir et al, 2020 ). For instance, several studies have shown increased frequency of obsessions, time spent on compulsive behaviors, higher reported distress and lower perceived controllability over OCD symptoms in OCD patients during the pandemic ( Alonso et al, 2021 , Jelinek et al, 2021 ).…”