PHENOMENOLOGY AND PREVALENCE OF OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE AND OTHER AXIS I DISORDERS IN A TURKISH DERMATOLOGY CLINIC

Abstract

Background: Previous studies report that many obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients seek help especially from dermatology clinics. The aims of the present study were: to determine the prevalence of OCD and other DSM-IV Axis I disorders among patients attending an outpatient clinic of dermatology, to identify any possible relationship between dermatological diseases and OCD, to determine the clinical and phenomenological features of the OCD subgroup in this population. Methods: The study was conducted in the Dermatology Outpatient Clinic of Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty. To achieve randomization, every fifth patient applying for the first time within the denoted period was included. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms Scale (Y-BOCS), and a Case Report (CRF) were used for psychiatric evaluation. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS for Windows, Version 11.5, Chicago, IL., USA) was used for statistical analyses. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test and One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA, via Kruskal-Wallis test) were used for comparisons. The results were interpreted within a confidence interval (CI) of 95 % and p was set at 0.05. Results: Among 99 patients 21 (21.2%) were diagnosed as having OCD and 34 were (34.3%) found to have other mental disorders whereas 44 (44.4%) had no psychopathology. OCD was found to be significantly commoner among those who had disease more than a year. The most common obsession was found to be contamination (63.6%), ordering (22.7%) and symmetry (18.1%). Most frequent compulsions were found to be Washing/ Cleaning (63.6%), checking (40.9%) and counting (31.8%). Psycho-cutenous disorders and eczema were found to be related with OCD. Conclusion: We have found increased prevalences of both OCD and other axis I disorders among dermatology patients, especially those with psycho-cutenous reactions and eczema and we argue that a closer cooperation among dermatology and psychiatry is needed also in Turkey. Key words: consultation-liaison psychiatry, dermatology, obsessive compulsive disorder, psychopathology