Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in Adolescents and Adults

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a chronic psychiatric disorder with adverse affects. OCD is associated with significant distress and impairment in functioning. The distress and impairment in functioning impacts not only the individual with the diagnosis, but it impacts their family as well. Due to stigma and lack of recognition, individuals with OCD often wait many years before they receive a correct diagnosis and effective treatment. Since OCD has a wide range of potential severity, it is important to determine if the manifestation of symptoms changes with age of onset.

Agnieszka Butwicka and Agnieszka Gmitrowicsz, 2010, reviewed the existing literature looking at the age of onset and found that, “There is evidence that adult patients with early onset (EO) differ clinically from those with late onset of OCD (LO)” (p.365). In fact, patients with early onset OCD (EOCD) fall into a more severe sub-type. After their review of the literature, the authors’ came up with two purposes for their study, “First, to investigate differences in OCD symptoms between adolescents versus adult patients and second between EOCD versus LOCD groups” (p.366).

Butwicka and Gmitrowicsz reviewed inpatients records for OCD from 1999-2007 from the “Central Clinic Hospital of the Medical University of Lodz” (p.366). The researchers looked at patients with an ICD-10 and DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD. Then, they divided the patients into three groups: group one contained adolescents, group two contained adults that were 19 years or older, and group three contained adults with a diagnosis prior to their 18^th birthday (p.366). The total number of patients was 132. There were 44 patients in group one, 43 patients in group two, and 45 patients in group three. The authors’ looked at several variables between the three groups, and they determined that,

Religious, sexual and miscellaneous obsessions were more frequent in group and somatic less frequent in group one than in group 2. Contamination compulsions were most seldom found in group 1. Cleaning obsessions were more frequent in group 3 than 1. Checking were the rarest and miscellaneous, the most often compulsion among adolescents in comparison to other groups (p.365).

The study shows that there are some differences between the symptoms manifested by the patients and the age of onset. The authors’ noted that there were a few limitations to the study, but they pointed out that these limitations could be used to encourage future studies.

Many patients with OCD experience moderate symptoms; however in severe presentations, this disorder is quite disabling and is appropriately characterized as an example of a severe and persistent mental illness. The manifestation of symptoms varies with age of onset, and the age of onset influences the rates of the patients’ compulsions. Therefore, to decrease the amount of distress and impairment in functioning on the individual with the diagnosis, and the family, it is vital to receive treatment.

References

 

Butwicka, A., & Gmitrowicz, A. (2010). Symptom clusters in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD): influence of age and age of onset. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(4), 365-370. doi:10.1007/s00787-009-0055-2