background The course of obsessive compulsive disorder (ocd) is usually chronic and the disorder causes marked impairment and progressive deterioration in work and social functioning. However, some patients with a past history of ocd have reported symptom-free periods of months or years and some patients, despite their illness, even appear to function good to excellent in their personal as well as in their professional lives.
This leads to the hypothesis that ocd might not be a homogeneous group. As a consequence it might be fruitful to identify homogeneous subgroups of ocd on the basis of clinical course, which subsequently might have treatment implications.
aim To distinguish different types of course of ocd and to describe these types of course in terms of demographic and clinical features. Predictors of a chronic course of ocd will be determined.
method Using the Life Chart Method,
retrospective data concerning the course of ocd during the past five years are collected at intake of the Netherlands Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Association (nocda) study. nocda is worldwide the biggest naturalistic prospective study of course in ocd (n = 419).
The predictive value of demographical features (e.g. age, age at onset, sex, educational level, employment, family history of ocd) and clinical features (eg., severity, subtype, bizarreness, quality of life, comorbidity, neuroticism) will be established on the basis of regression analysis.
results Results of the study, consequences for further research and treatment options will be presented and critically discussed.
conclusion Data were not available at the time of abstract submission.