The Clinical Characteristics of ADHD and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Comorbidity

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the clinical implications of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and ADHD comorbidity in adults. Method: The OCD patients who had and had no diagnosis of adulthood ADHD were compared in terms of several demographic and clinical variables. Results: The mean number of obsessions and compulsions; hoarding, symmetry, and miscellaneous obsessions; ordering/arranging and hoarding compulsions; total, attentional, and motor subscale scores of Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS)-11 were more frequent among the patients with OCD-ADHD. The mean age of onset was more likely to be earlier in ADHD-OCD group than in OCD group. Impulsivity, symmetry obsessions, and hoarding compulsions strongly predicted the coexistence between ADHD and OCD. Conclusion: OCD-ADHD comorbidity in adults seemed to be associated with an earlier onset of OCD, with the predominance of impulsivity, and with a different obsessive-compulsive symptom (OC) profile from OCD patients without a diagnosis of ADHD.

The impact of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in obsessive‐compulsive disorder subjects

“…In adults, however, the presence of ADHD in OCD subjects has been rarely investigated and few studies have examined possible correlates of this comorbidity (Anholt et al, ; Frost, Steketee & Tolin, ; Jaisoorya, Reddy & Srinath, ; Mancebo et al, ; Mersin Kilic, Dondu, Memis, Ozdemiroglu & Sevincok, ; Pinto et al, ; Ruscio, Stein, Chiu & Kessler, ; Sheppard et al, ; Tolin & Villavicencio, ). These studies have reported rates of ADHD in adult OCD patients ranging from 0% (Jaisoorya et al, ) to 44.4% (Mersin Kilic et al, ; Table ).…”

“…In adults, however, the presence of ADHD in OCD subjects has been rarely investigated and few studies have examined possible correlates of this comorbidity (Anholt et al, ; Frost, Steketee & Tolin, ; Jaisoorya, Reddy & Srinath, ; Mancebo et al, ; Mersin Kilic, Dondu, Memis, Ozdemiroglu & Sevincok, ; Pinto et al, ; Ruscio, Stein, Chiu & Kessler, ; Sheppard et al, ; Tolin & Villavicencio, ). These studies have reported rates of ADHD in adult OCD patients ranging from 0% (Jaisoorya et al, ) to 44.4% (Mersin Kilic et al, ; Table ). Some of these studies have reported that the OCD + ADHD comorbidity in adults was associated with an earlier onset of the OCS (Mancebo et al, ; Mersin Kilic et al, ), and higher frequencies of the symmetry/ordering (Mersin Kilic et al, ), aggression (Anholt et al, ), contamination (Anholt et al, ), miscellaneous (Mersin Kilic et al, ), and hoarding (Mersin Kilic et al, ; Sheppard et al, ) symptoms.…”

“…These studies have reported rates of ADHD in adult OCD patients ranging from 0% (Jaisoorya et al, ) to 44.4% (Mersin Kilic et al, ; Table ). Some of these studies have reported that the OCD + ADHD comorbidity in adults was associated with an earlier onset of the OCS (Mancebo et al, ; Mersin Kilic et al, ), and higher frequencies of the symmetry/ordering (Mersin Kilic et al, ), aggression (Anholt et al, ), contamination (Anholt et al, ), miscellaneous (Mersin Kilic et al, ), and hoarding (Mersin Kilic et al, ; Sheppard et al, ) symptoms.…”

“…Despite the relevant contributions, these studies have several limitations such as: small sample sizes (Anholt et al, ; Frost et al, ; Jaisoorya et al, ; Mancebo et al, ; Mersin Kilic et al, ; Ruscio et al, ; Sheppard et al, ; Tolin & Villavicencio, ) and use of self‐report measures to establish diagnosis (Anholt et al, ; Jaisoorya et al, ; Mancebo et al, ; Pinto et al, ; Sheppard et al, ; Tolin & Villavicencio, ). Additionally, these studies have not examined the association between ADHD comorbidity and the severity of OCD symptom dimensions, the presence of sensory phenomena (SP), and the clinical impairment.…”

“…Our main hypotheses were that when compared with the OCD subjects without ADHD (OCD–ADHD), OCD + ADHD patients would present: (a) an earlier age of onset of the OCS (Mancebo et al, ; Mersin Kilic et al, ); (b) higher severity of the aggression, symmetry, and hoarding symptom dimensions; (c) increased frequency of SP; (d) greater number of comorbid disorders, specifically Tourette syndrome (TS; Mathews and Grados, ); and (e) higher impairment (including, i.e., worse academic performance and higher frequency of suicide attempts).…”