title: Comorbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in referred children and adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to explore whether comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects the clinical expression and outcome of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in a clinical sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  A consecutive series of 94 children and adolescents (mean age, 13.6 +/- 2.8 years) with current diagnosis of OCD were included in the study. Twenty-four (25.5%) patients were diagnosed as having a comorbid ADHD. Subjects with OCD plus ADHD were compared with subjects with OCD but without ADHD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comorbid ADHD with OCD was significantly associated with a higher rate of males, an earlier onset of OCD, a greater psychosocial impairment, and a heavier comorbidity, namely, with bipolar disorder, tic disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder. Phenomenology of obsessions and compulsions and outcome were not affected by ADHD comorbidity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A screening for ADHD should be performed in patients with OCD, as these patients and their parents are frequently not aware that the impairment may be partly due to a comorbid ADHD.
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56018 Calambrone Pisa, Italy. gabriele.masi@inpe.unipi.it
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Masi
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Millepiedi
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mucci
authors.forename: Nicoletta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bertini
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pfanner
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arcangeli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors