When a nightmare comes true: Change in obsessive-compulsive disorder over the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
J Anxiety Disord
; 84: 102493, 2021 12.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1487807
ABSTRACT
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has particularly affected people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Exacerbation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) has been suspected for those with contamination-related OCD (C-OCD). However, the course of OCS over the ongoing pandemic remains unclear. We assessed 268 participants with OCD (nâ¯=â¯184 with C-OCD) in an online survey at the beginning of the pandemic in Germany, reassessing 179 participants (66.8%, 104â¯C-OCD) three months later. We assessed severity of OCD (OCI-R), depression (PHQ-9), experiential avoidance, as well as functional and dysfunctional beliefs. Overall, OCS and depressive symptoms did not substantially change over time. However, when people with and without C-OCD were compared, symptoms improved in patients without C-OCD (nC-OCD) but remained stable in patients with C-OCD over time. Symptom improvement was associated with male gender, higher initial OCI-R, and nC-OCD. Experiential avoidance and beliefs at the beginning of the pandemic did not generally predict change in OCS. People with OCD, particularly those with nC-OCD, showed tentative signs for signs of adapting, whereas distress in those with C-OCD remained at a high level, underlining the burden for these patients. Clinicians should be informed about how to maintain effective treatment for C-OCD during a pandemic.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
J Anxiety Disord
Journal subject:
Psychiatry
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS