Harm avoidance in subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder and their families.
BACKGROUND
This study investigates the role of harm avoidance (HA) as a possible risk factor in the familiality of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). HA is considered to be a genetically influenced personality trait with an increasingly understood neuroanatomical basis.


METHODS
75 subjects with OCD from hospital sites and a community sample and their 152 first degree relatives and 75 age and sex matched controls with their 143 first degree relatives were evaluated with structured clinical interviews (DSM-IV). HA was assessed with Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ).


RESULTS
Subjects with OCD had higher scores of HA than controls (p<or=0.001). First degree relatives of OCD cases also showed higher HA than relatives of control subjects (p=0.001).These results remained stable when comparing only OCD subjects versus controls (p<or=0.001) and relatives of OCD cases versus relatives of controls (p=0.005) without current comorbid disorders.


CONCLUSIONS
The investigation of HA alone does not allow to disentangle the transmission of biological versus psychological factors related to an elevated level of anxiety in families of OCD cases.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study to extent previous findings of elevated HA in OCD cases to their first degree relatives. Thus, HA may partially mediate the familial risk for OCD.
Ettelt
Susan
S
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Germany.
Grabe
Hans Joergen
HJ
Ruhrmann
Stephan
S
Buhtz
Friederike
F
Hochrein
Andrea
A
Kraft
Susanne
S
Pukrop
Ralf
R
Klosterkötter
Joachim
J
Falkai
Peter
P
Maier
Wolfgang
W
John
Ulrich
U
Freyberger
Harald J
HJ
Wagner
Michael
M
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D035061:Control Groups; D003625:Data Collection; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005190:Family; D005192:Family Health; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality / Q000235:genetics*; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament / Q000145:classification