Abstract
BackgroundObsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) commonly occur in the course of schizophrenia. However, reported rates of comorbid obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in schizophrenia were highly variable among studies. In addition, influences of OCS on the symptomatology and functioning of schizophrenia have not been fully explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinic-based prevalence rate of OCD in schizophrenia patients, and to evaluated clinical correlates of the comorbidity.MethodsPatients with schizophrenia (n=320) were recruited and lifetime clinical characteristics were evaluated comprehensively. Patients having comorbid OCD (OCD group, n=66) and those without OCD (the non-OCD group, n=254) were compared in terms of clinical characteristics and cognitive functioning.ResultsOCD was found in 20.6% of the subjects. Earlier age at onset, male gender, and higher level of education were associated with comorbid OCD. In terms of individual symptoms and symptom dimensions, ‘anxiety (p=0.009) and ‘depression (p=0.001)’ were more frequently observed in the OCD group than in the non-OCD group. The prodromal impairment was higher in the non-OCD group (p=0.016). The OCD group showed better performance in working memory domain (p= 0.003), and other cognitive domains did not show any significant group difference.DiscussionThe prevalence rate of OCD in the current subjects was within the range of previously reported comorbidity rates in schizophrenia patients from other populations. Association of OCS with anxiety and depressive symptoms seems to be a common finding which was also reported in previous studies of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Regarding cognitive functions, inconsistent results including the current report have been generated suggesting heterogeneous developmental mechanisms of OCS in schizophrenia.
Highlights
Obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) commonly occur in the course of schizophrenia
There have been several public health campaigns for health promotion and disease prevention, and tobacco legislation has become stricter. These strategies appear to have been effective in improving the health of the general Norwegian population [2]. It is unknown whether the elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder has sustained in spite of these health promotion approaches
Comparisons were made between cohorts regarding demographic variables, psychiatric symptoms, tobacco use, body mass index, waist circumference, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure
Summary
Social anxiety is an underreported concern in schizophrenia (SCZ). Prevalence rates in the general population range from 0.5– 7% (APA, 2013), but are higher in SCZ, and estimated to be 11–36% (Mazeh et al, 2009; Pallanti et al, 2004).
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