Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with reduced quality of life, and functional impairments.7 It is defined as:7
- obsession; recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images, that are experienced as unwanted or intrusive and that in most individuals cause anxiety or distress, which the individual attempts to suppress or neutralise with some other thought or action (e.g., a compulsion)
- compulsion; repetitive behaviour that the individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, and which is aimed at reducing anxiety or distress, but is not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralise, or are clearly excessive.
The symptoms of OCD can be separated from the rumination experienced in MDD, because thoughts in the latter are usually mood-congruent and not necessarily experienced as intrusive or distressing, and are not linked to compulsions as is the case for OCD.7
References:
1.Rickelt J, Viechtbauer W, Lieverse R, et al. The relation between depressive and obsessive–compulsive symptoms in obsessive–compulsive disorder: results from a large, naturalistic follow-up study. J Affect Disord 2016; 203: 241–247.
2.Dold M, Bartova L, Souery D, et al. Low comorbid obsessive–compulsive disorder in patients with major depressive disorder – findings from a European multicenter study. J Affect Disord 2018; 227: 254–259.
3.Thaipisuttikul P, Ittasakul P, Waleeprakhon P, et al. Psychiatric comorbidities in patients with major depressive disorder. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2014; 10: 2097–2103.
4.Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, et al. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005; 62 (6): 593–602.
5.Rowe C, Deledalle A, Boudoukha AH. Psychiatric comorbidities of obsessive–compulsive disorder: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. J Clin Psychol 2022; 78 (4): 469–484.
6.Sharma E, Sharma LP, Balachander S, et al. Comorbidities in obsessive–compulsive disorder across the lifespan: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12: 703701.
7.American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fifth Edition – text revision. © American Psychiatric Association, 2022.
