Abstract
Psychiatric comorbidity is extremely common. One of the most common and difficult to manage comorbid conditions is the co-occurrence of bipolar disorder (BD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). We updated our recent systematic review searching the electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO to investigate course of illness in BD-OCD patients. We identified a total of 13 relevant papers which found that the majority of comorbid OCD cases appeared to be related to mood episodes. OC symptoms in comorbid patients appeared more often during depressive episodes, and comorbid BD and OCD cycled together, with OC symptoms often remitting during manic/hypomanic episodes.
Highlights
A diagnosis can be considered valid when one can differentiate it from other diagnoses
Results from this review support the view that the majority of cases of comorbid bipolar disorder (BD)–obsessive– compulsive disorder (OCD) are, BD cases
Considering course of illness as a key diagnostic validator, especially among patients with a primary diagnosis of BD, the majority of comorbid OCD cases appeared to be related to mood episodes
Summary
A diagnosis can be considered valid when one can differentiate it from other diagnoses. Psychiatric comorbidity is extremely common in bipolar disorder (BD). More than half of BD patients have an additional diagnosis, one of the most difficult to manage being obsessive– compulsive disorder (OCD). Recent studies have investigated the co-occurrence of anxiety disorders and BD, the topic is insufficiently studied and the. Relationship between BD and OCD remains unclear (Amerio et al, 2014a; Tonna et al, 2015). What remains unclear is whether this high comorbidity represents the frequent occurrence of two independent diseases, or whether it represents the occurrence of symptoms of one kind (e.g., OCD symptoms) in a different disease (i.e., BD). In agreement with Kraepelin’s thought a psychiatric diagnosis is best established by its longitudinal course of illness, we updated our recent systematic review to investigate the course of illness in BD–OCD patients
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
