title: Insight in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a study of an Italian sample.
abstract: Insight is a complex phenomenon that can be interpreted according to a dimensional model. Given the controversial data of insight in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), our study aimed to investigate insight in an Italian sample of patients with OCD by means of the specific item on the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) and to explore the possible correlations between it and clinical features. One hundred and seventeen out-patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD and different comorbid psychiatric disorders were included in the study and assessed by means of the Y-BOCS, Hamilton rating scale for depression (HRSD) and the global clinical impression. The results showed that almost 50% of the patients had an excellent level of insight and 15% had a little or no insight. No correlation between levels of insight and clinical features was observed, except for a negative trend with the presence of somatic obsessions. In addition, a trend towards a lower level of insight was observed in those bipolar patients with a positive history of repeated manic or hypomanic episodes. Further studies seem to be necessary in order to establish whether or not OCD patients with poor insight represent a distinct sub-group of patients.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psichiatria, Neurobiologia, Farmacologia e Biotecnologie, University of Pisa, via Roma, 67, 56100, Pisa, Italy. dmarazzi@psico.med.unipi.it
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marazziti
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dell'Osso
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Nasso
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pfanner
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Presta
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mungai
authors.forename: Giovanni B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Cassano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires