Comorbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder in early and late onset manic depressive disorder

Abstract

Introduction : The aim of this study was to compare obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) comorbidity in early and late onset bipolar I disorder and to explore the pattern of obsessive symptoms in these two groups. Methods : A total of 100 inpatients with early and late bipolar disorder were admitted in the child, adolescent and adult psychiatric ward. They were recruited to the study through convenience sampling. All patients had a current DSM-IV episode based on using K-SADs and SCID. They were evaluated to abut obsessive-compulsive disorder comorbidity using Y-BOCS. Clinical data were compared using multivariate test. Results: Fifty-two percent with early onset versus twenty-eight percent of late onset bipolar cases had a comorbidity of OCD and the difference was significant (p<0.05). Obsessive symptoms in early onset group were more religious, aggressive, sexual and somatic types. Conclusion : Our study showed high comorbidity rate of OCD among patients with early onset bipolar disorder. Future large-scaled prospective studies are required for better understanding of factors related to bipolar and OCD co-occurrence. Declaration of Interest: None. Keywords:OCD, Bipolar disorder, Comorbidity.