Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Other Conditions
People with OCD often have other co-occurring psychiatric disorders, called comorbidities. One study, for example, showed that about 67% of OCD patients met the criteria for major depression at some point during their lifetime.[1] Psychiatric disorders that tend to occur together with OCD include other anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, tics, Tourette's disorder, eating disorders, alcohol or substance abuse disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and impulse-control disorders such as skin-picking and hair-pulling (trichotillomania).[2]
Some people with OCD develop depression after they have been diagnosed with OCD. Over the course of their lifetime, up to 80% of patients with OCD may experience depressive episodes.[3] There is evidence that depression can increase anxiety, OCD symptom severity, and disability compared to people with OCD alone.[4] These findings suggest how important it is to seek early treatment for OCD.
One study showed that more than over half (56%) of adult OCD patients had major depression. The most common comorbid conditions included panic disorder (14%), generalized anxiety disorder (14%), adjustment disorder (12%), bipolar disorder (6%), and eating disorders (3%).[5]
Several medications are FDA approved to treat OCD and many are FDA approved to treat one or more psychiatric disorders. There are no medications approved specifically to treat OCD comorbid with other psychiatric disorders.
"I feel that it's very hard for doctors to diagnose OCD properly because its symptoms can be similar to those of other psychiatric disorders. Most physicans don't dig deep enough to discover the OCD."
- Amanda O.
References:
- ^ Pinto A, et al. The Brown Longitudinal Obsessive Compulsive Study: clinical features and symptoms of the sample at intake. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2006;67:703-11.
- ^ American Psychiatric Association; Koran LM, et al. Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2007;164(suppl):1-56.
- ^ Rasmussen SA, Tsuang MT. Clinical characteristics and family history in DSM-III obsessive-compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1986;143:317-22.
- ^ Tukel R, et al. The clinical impact of mood disorder comorbidity on obsessive compulsive disorder. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. 2006;256:240-45.
- ^ Fireman B, et al. The prevalence of clinically recognized obsessive-compulsive disorder in a large health maintenance organization. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2001;158:1904-1910.
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