background The obsessive compulsive disorder (ocd) is an invalidating and often chronic disease. Comorbidity in ocd is the rule rather than the exception. Lifetime comorbidity rates are estimated around 90% and one month comorbidity rates around 40%. Comorbidity has frequently been associated with higher severity, worse global functioning and poorer outcome in treatments. This is one of the reasons to investigate characteristics and consequences of different comorbidity patterns in ocd.
aim To describe the comorbidity patterns in a large ocd sample.
method Data are obtained from the Netherlands Obsessive compulsive Disorder Association (nocda) study. nocda is a longitudinal cohort study conducted among 419 adult participants with ocd. Pure ocd was compared to ocd with comorbidity on sociodemographic, vulnerability and clinical factors and on negative consequences.
results Data are currently being analysed. Results will be presented at the conference. We will present comorbidity rates of axis I disorders in the ocd sample, as well as the results of the comparison of pure ocd with ocd with comorbidity. Two different comorbidity patterns are investigated; comorbidity patterns based on the type of comorbidity and comorbidity patterns based on the number of comorbid disorders.
conclusion More than half of the ocd patients suffer from a current comorbid disorder and more than three-quarter from a lifetime comorbid disorder. Comorbidity leads to more severe ocd symptoms and more complex ocd.