Objective: This study was carried out to assess the comorbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children, adolescents, and adults with bipolar I disorder (BID).
Method: One hundred hospital inmates (50 children and adolescents, 50 adults) with BID were selected using convenience sampling. Diagnosis of bipolar disorder was made through questionnaires Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school age (K-SADS) (children) and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) (adults). Comorbidity and phenomenology of lifetime OCD was determined by the DSM-IV checklist and Yale-Brown scale.
Results: The comorbidity of OCD was 52% for children and adolescents and 28% for adults with a significant difference between the two groups. The comparison of obsessive-compulsive phenomenology between the two groups showed a significant difference only in the cluster of religious, sexual, aggressive and somatic obsessions, and checking compulsions (22% children and adolescents vs. 6% adults).
Conclusion: The high comorbidity of OCD in patients with BID, especially in children and adolescents, is consistent with earlier findings. The higher rate of OCD comorbidity among children and adolescents can be indicative of a specific clinical subgroup of bipolar disorder requiring a distinct therapeutic plan.
Type of Study:
Research |
Subject:
Special Received: 2005/08/14 | Accepted: 2005/10/23 | Published: 2005/12/22