tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Psychiatr Res
. 2022 Feb 1;147:307-312.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.01.065. Online ahead of print.
The impact of COVID-19 on patients with OCD: A one-year follow-up study
Maria E Moreira-de-Oliveira[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gabriela B de Menezes[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Carla P Loureiro[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Luana D Laurito[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Lucy Albertella[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Leonardo F Fontenelle[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns regarding its psychological effects on people with preexisting psychiatric disorders have been raised, particularly obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Nevertheless, only a few longitudinal studies have been performed, and a more longstanding follow-up of a clinical sample is needed. In this study, our aim was to investigate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on symptom changes in a sample of Brazilian OCD patients for about a one-year period.
Methods: Thirty OCD outpatients seen in a specialized OCD clinic in Rio de Janeiro were evaluated at baseline and after one year (during the pandemic). Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected along with a questionnaire aimed at quantifying the number of stressful events related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparisons between two time points (pre vs. during COVID-19) and two subgroups (patients with vs without worsening of symptoms) were carried out.
Results: As a group, OCD patients treated with SRIs had an overall stabilization of symptoms throughout the follow-up period, regardless of the number of stressful experiences related to coronavirus (median baseline YBOCS remained 22.0 at follow-up). In addition, when individually analyzed, even those who reported an increase in their symptoms did not describe a greater number of COVID-19 related events.
Conclusions: Patients with OCD, who were under treatment, did not show significant symptom deterioration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individual variations in OCD symptom severity did not seem to be related to experiences linked to coronavirus.
Keywords: COVID-19; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Psychological distress.
. 2022 Feb 1;147:307-312.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.01.065. Online ahead of print.
The impact of COVID-19 on patients with OCD: A one-year follow-up study
Maria E Moreira-de-Oliveira[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gabriela B de Menezes[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Carla P Loureiro[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Luana D Laurito[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Lucy Albertella[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Leonardo F Fontenelle[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35123340
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.01.065
Abstract
Background: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns regarding its psychological effects on people with preexisting psychiatric disorders have been raised, particularly obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Nevertheless, only a few longitudinal studies have been performed, and a more longstanding follow-up of a clinical sample is needed. In this study, our aim was to investigate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on symptom changes in a sample of Brazilian OCD patients for about a one-year period.
Methods: Thirty OCD outpatients seen in a specialized OCD clinic in Rio de Janeiro were evaluated at baseline and after one year (during the pandemic). Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected along with a questionnaire aimed at quantifying the number of stressful events related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparisons between two time points (pre vs. during COVID-19) and two subgroups (patients with vs without worsening of symptoms) were carried out.
Results: As a group, OCD patients treated with SRIs had an overall stabilization of symptoms throughout the follow-up period, regardless of the number of stressful experiences related to coronavirus (median baseline YBOCS remained 22.0 at follow-up). In addition, when individually analyzed, even those who reported an increase in their symptoms did not describe a greater number of COVID-19 related events.
Conclusions: Patients with OCD, who were under treatment, did not show significant symptom deterioration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individual variations in OCD symptom severity did not seem to be related to experiences linked to coronavirus.
Keywords: COVID-19; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Psychological distress.
