title: Impulse control disorders in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: The purpose of the present paper was to identify the rate of prevalence of impulse control disorders (ICD) in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and to compare patients with OCD with and without ICD with regard to sociodemographic, clinical and prognostic characteristics. Forty-five patients with OCD were assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn, DSM-IV) plus additional modules for the assessment of ICD and examined using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the Clinical Global Impression, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and the Global Assessment of Functioning. These patients were treated with serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SRI) and followed for a variable period of time. Individuals with ICD (here defined as including not only the impulse control disorders not elsewhere classified of the DSM-IV, but also other disorders in which impulse control is a prominent feature such as alcohol and drug dependence, paraphilias and bulimia nervosa/binge eating disorder) were compared to those without ICD using the Mann-Whitney U-test and the Pearson's goodness of fit chi2 test. Sixteen patients with OCD (35.5%) displayed comorbid ICD. Patients with ICD were characterized by a significantly earlier age at OCD onset (P=0.04), a more insidious appearance of OCD symptoms (P=0.04), a higher rate of comorbid anxiety disorders (P=0.03), a greater number (P=0.02) and severity of compulsive symptoms (P=0.04), an increased rate of counting compulsions (P=0.02), and a higher number of required SRI trials (P=0.01). When OCD is found in association with ICD, the clinical picture is characterized by a greater severity of the obsessive-compulsive symptoms at presentation and by the requirement of a greater number of therapeutic attempts during follow up.
authors.affiliation: Anxiety and Depression Research Program, Institute of Psychiatry of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. leofontenelle@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Leonardo F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Fontenelle
authors.forename: Mauro V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Mendlowicz
authors.forename: Marcio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Versiani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010552:Personality Assessment; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014256:Trichotillomania / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors