title: High prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder among posttraumatic stress disorder patients.
abstract: Posttraumatic obsessions have been reported in a few studies and case series. However, the magnitude of this phenomenon is still unknown. In the current study we systematically evaluated the prevalence of OCD in a sample of combat and terror related PTSD patients. Out of 44 referrals, 43% of the participants had PTSD with no OCD and 41% were diagnosed also with OCD. Six percent had sub-threshold OC symptoms. No difference was found between PTSD and PTSD-OCD participants' characteristics (including demographics, trauma-related factors, and other psychiatric co-morbidity). The surprisingly high number of OCD found in the current study suggests that PTSD-OCD might be underdiagnosed, signifies the importance of direct assessment of OCD in patients with PTSD, and raise questions regarding the underlying mechanism of post-traumatic OCD.
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Nitsa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nacasch
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fostick
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zohar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology