Comorbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in referred children and adolescents.
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.
Masi
Gabriele
G
IRCCS Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56018 Calambrone Pisa, Italy. gabriele.masi@inpe.unipi.it
Millepiedi
Stefania
S
Mucci
Maria
M
Bertini
Nicoletta
N
Pfanner
Chiara
C
Arcangeli
Francesca
F
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
D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors