Depression in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patients

Abstract

Objectives :

To study depression in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients.

Method :

This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Participants were OCD patients from out-patient clinic, department of Psychiatry, Ramathibodi hospital and normal adults aged from 18 to 70. All participants answered questionnaires about general identification data and the Thai version of Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a self-rated measure for depression. They all were then rated for depression by using the Thai version of the Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAM-D), and OCD patients were further rated for OCD symptom severity by using the Thai version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive -Compulsive Scale -Second Edition (YBOCS-II-T). Result : Forty nine OCD patients and eighty normal adults participated in this study. OCD patients had higher rate of depression (28.6% and 38.8% assessed by HAM-D and PHQ-9 respectively) and suicidal idea (18.4%) than normal adults. The YBOCS-II-T obsession score was associated with depression. OCD symptoms which associated significantly with depression were aggression, obsessions and hoarding obsession. Conclusion : OCD patients reported depression and suicidal idea quite often. This data might be useful for health care personnel who take care of these patients.