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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 12/2014

Open Access 01-12-2014 | Original Paper

Physical diseases among persons with obsessive compulsive symptoms and disorder: a general population study

Authors: Cornelia Witthauer, Andrew T. Gloster, Andrea Hans Meyer, Roselind Lieb

Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Issue 12/2014

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed at evaluating the comorbidity between DSM-IV obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and subthreshold forms and physical diseases in the general population as well as disability associated with comorbidity.

Methods

We used data from the 1998 German Mental Health Survey, a representative survey of the German population. Mental disorders and physical diseases of 4181 subjects (aged 18–65) were cross-sectionally assessed. Mental disorders were diagnosed using the M-CIDI/DIA-X interview. Physical diseases were assessed through a self-report questionnaire and a standardized medical interview. We created three groups of obsessive–compulsive symptoms: (1) no obsessive compulsive symptoms (n = 3,571); (2) obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS, n = 371; endorsement of OCS (either obsession or compulsion) without fulfilling any core DSM-IV criteria); (3) subthreshold OCD/OCD (n = 239; fulfilling either some or all of the core DSM-IV criteria).

Results

In comparison to subjects without OCS, subjects with subthreshold OCD/OCD showed higher prevalence rates of migraine headaches (OR 1.7; 95 % CI 1.1–2.5) and respiratory diseases (OR 1.7; 95 % CI 1.03–2.7); subjects with OCS showed higher prevalence rates of allergies (OR 1.6; 95 % CI 1.1–2.8), migraine headaches (OR 1.9; 95 % CI 1.4–2.7) and thyroid disorders (OR 1.4; 95 % CI 1.01–2.0). Subjects with both OCS and physical disease reported the highest number of days of disability due to physical or psychological problems during the past 30 days compared to subjects with only OCS, only physical disease or neither of them.

Conclusions

OCD and subthreshold forms are associated with higher comorbidity rates with specific physical diseases and higher disability than subjects without OCS. Possible etiological pathways should be evaluated in future studies and clinicians in primary care should be aware of these associations.
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Metadata
Title
Physical diseases among persons with obsessive compulsive symptoms and disorder: a general population study
Authors
Cornelia Witthauer
Andrew T. Gloster
Andrea Hans Meyer
Roselind Lieb
Publication date
01-12-2014
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Issue 12/2014
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Electronic ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0895-z

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