Impact of age of onset of illness on clinical phenotype in OCD

Abstract

BackgroundThis study aims to examine the demographic, clinical and comorbid patterns in a large sample of adult OCD subjects at a specialty OCD clinic in India. MethodsConsecutive patients (n=545) who consulted a specialty OCD Clinic over 5 years at a large psychiatric hospital in India were evaluated with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Yale-Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale, and the Clinical Global Impression scale. ResultsEarlier age onset of OCD (years) was characterized by male preponderance (19.61±7.98 vs. 25.19±10.39, U=23453.5, p=<0.001), positive family history of OCD (19.60±10.02 vs. 22.27±9.20, U=16590.5, p<0.001) and presence of tic disorder (16.28±8.21 vs. 22.01±9.38, OR=0.86, p=0.001). In addition, early age of onset was associated with presence of sexual obsessions (18.92±7.49 vs. 22.88±9.82, OR=0.96, p=0.02), hoarding (19.61±9.32 vs. 22.21±9.36, OR=0.95, p=0.009), repeating rituals (19.76±8.37 vs. 23.29±9.84, OR=0.95, p=0.006) and need to touch compulsions (16.40±7.19 vs. 22.36±9.43, OR=0.89, p<0.001). ConclusionsOur findings from a large sample not only confirm that early onset OCD could be a valid and distinct subtype of OCD but also support the cross-cultural similarity of early onset phenotype.