Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is still an unrecognised disorder: A study on the recognition of OCD in psychiatric outpatients

• Published in: European psychiatry Vol. 25; no. 7; pp. 374 - 377
• Main Authors: Wahl, K., Kordon, A., Kuelz, K.A., Voderholzer, U., Hohagen, F., Zurowski, B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Elsevier SAS 01.11.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent psychiatry; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Mass Screening; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - psychology; Obsessive-compulsive disorders; OCD; Outpatients; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Quality of care; Surveys and Questionnaires; Europe; Germany; OCD; Quality of care; Adolescent psychiatry; Human; Social environment; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Anxiety disorder; Mental health; Health service; Concomitant disease; Adolescent; Mental disorder; Public health; Recognition
• ISSN: 0924-9338; 1778-3585; 1778-3585
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2009.12.003

The study aims to investigate the recognition of patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in psychiatric outpatients. A total of 2282 outpatients seen at 14 different psychiatric clinics in South Germany were asked to participate in the study. Five hundred and eighty-nine (30%) of the original 2282 patients met screening criteria for OCD, and of those, 237 (42%) participated in the final interview including DSM-IV diagnosis, and comorbidity. Sixty-nine of 589 participating patients who screened positively for obsessive symptoms actually had an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Only 19 (28%) of the outpatients diagnosed with OCD according to DSM-IV criteria were also given this diagnosis by their consultant. The psychopathology scores indicated that the OCD patients had clinically relevant OCD with a mean Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Score (Y-BOCS) of 17.5 (± 5.4), and a mean Clinical Global Impression Score (CGI) of 5.2 (± 1.2). In outpatient clinics over 70% of OCD patients remain unrecognised and thus untreated by consultants. Screening questions provide a rapid way of identifying those who may have OCD and should be incorporated into every mental state examination by consultants.