Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Preliminary Findings From a Study in the United Arab Emirates.
Prim Care Companion CNS Disord
; 24(2)2022 Mar 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1732344
ABSTRACT
Objective:
To investigate the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among the general population of the United Arab Emirates.Methods:
An online survey of a convenience sample was conducted between October 2020 and January 2021. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to assess symptoms of OCD. The rate of OCD symptoms in those who had positive COVID-19 test results was compared with those who had no previous COVID-19 diagnosis.Results:
The total number of participants was 702, including 371 males and 325 females (6 skipped the question regarding sex). Most participants reported no previous psychiatric history (84.3%). Previous psychiatric diagnoses were reported by 15.7% of participants (n = 110) and included generalized anxiety (27.3%), phobia (1.8%), depression (19.1%), bipolar mood disorder (1.8%), OCD (6.3%), and panic attacks (8.2%). There were 39 (5.6%) participants who had past psychiatric history but were unsure of the exact diagnosis. Presence of history of OCD for the total sample was reported by 7 (1%) participants. A family history of OCD was reported by 34 (4.8%) participants. A total of 218 (31.1%) participants scored mild, moderate, severe, or extreme OCD symptoms. Clinically significant OCD symptoms were reported by 75 participants (10.7% of the total sample). The mean (SD) score of the Y-BOCS was 6.63 (7.13) for the COVID-positive group and 4.9 (6.34) for the COVID-negative group, which was statistically significant (P = .0008).Conclusions:
The study findings indicate an increased prevalence of OCD during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is significantly higher among people with positive COVID-19 infection compared to those with negative COVID-19 test results.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
PCC.21m03110
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