Do obsessive-compulsive disorders make life difficult for us?

Introduction

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and debilitating mental health condition characterized by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions). This disorder significantly impacts various aspects of an individual's life, including their quality of life (QoL), social functioning, and overall well-being.

Key Insights

Impaired Quality of Life (QoL)
- Individuals with OCD experience significantly impaired QoL across multiple domains, including social, familial, and occupational functioning .
- The severity of OCD symptoms, particularly obsessions, is strongly correlated with the degree of QoL impairment .
Impact of Comorbid Conditions
- Comorbid conditions, especially depression and anxiety, exacerbate the impairment in QoL for individuals with OCD .
- Patients with OCD and additional psychiatric diagnoses show the poorest QoL and functioning .
Social and Occupational Functioning
- Social functioning is particularly affected in individuals with OCD, with significant impairments noted in social interactions and relationships .
- Occupational performance, including the capacity to work and study, is also severely impacted by OCD .
Children and Adolescents
- Children and adolescents with OCD also show a marked decrease in QoL, with symptom severity and the presence of comorbidities being significant predictors of impairment .
- Parent-child agreement on QoL assessments is moderate to strong, indicating that both perspectives are important in understanding the impact of OCD on younger populations.
Treatment and QoL Improvement
- Treatment, including pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy, can lead to improvements in QoL, although these improvements may not reach the levels seen in the general population .
- QoL assessments should be incorporated into routine clinical practice to monitor treatment effectiveness and overall patient well-being .

Conclusion

OCD significantly impairs the quality of life, social functioning, and occupational performance of affected individuals. The severity of symptoms, particularly obsessions, and the presence of comorbid conditions like depression and anxiety, further exacerbate these impairments. Both children and adults with OCD experience substantial challenges, although treatment can lead to some improvements in QoL. Comprehensive treatment plans should aim not only to reduce symptoms but also to enhance overall life satisfaction and functioning.

Do obsessive-compulsive disorders make life difficult for us?

Summary

Consensus Meter

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Impact of obsessive-compulsive disorder on quality of life.

OCD significantly impairs quality of life, with obsessional severity and depression severity being significant predictors, and a YBOCS score of 20 or higher may serve as a threshold for diagnosis.

Clinical predictors of health-related quality of life in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder have severely impaired quality of life, with factors like education, depression, obsessions, and anxiety affecting physical health and mental health.

[Quality of life in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a review].

Obsessive-compulsive disorder patients have significantly impaired quality of life, with social and familial relationships and occupational performance being most affected, similar to schizophrenic patients.

Quality of life for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Moderate to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder is associated with impaired social functioning, but only social functioning is linearly related to disorder severity.

Quality of Life in Children with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Children with obsessive-compulsive disorder experience a decrease in quality of life, with co-morbidities, symptoms severity, and harm/aggression obsessions being the most significant factors.

Quality of life and functional impairment in obsessive–compulsive disorder: a comparison of patients with and without comorbidity, patients in remission, and healthy controls

OCD significantly impairs quality of life and functioning, with individuals in remission having improved levels, while those with OCD and comorbid disorders are the most impaired.

Quality of life in obsessive-compulsive disorder: The role of mediating variables

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) negatively impacts quality of life, with depressive symptoms, interference of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and resistance against obsessive-compulsive symptoms playing key mediating roles.

Quality of Life in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Impact of the Disorder and of Treatment

OCD patients experience diminished quality of life, with treatment like pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy improving it, but more reliable and valid instruments are needed.

Quality of life in obsessive compulsive disorder

Quality of life in OCD patients is significantly impaired, but can be improved with medications and psychotherapy, but not to community norms.

Quality of life in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder: base rates, parent–child agreement, and clinical correlates

Youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have significantly lower quality of life compared to healthy controls, with comorbid externalizing and internalizing symptoms strongly predicting this outcome.

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