title: Anger attacks in obsessive compulsive disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research on anger attacks has been mostly limited to depression, and only a few studies have focused on anger attacks in obsessive compulsive disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional study all new obsessive compulsive disorder patients aged 20-60 years attending an outpatient clinic were assessed using the anger attack questionnaire, irritability, depression and anxiety scale (for the direction of the aggressive behavior) and quality of life (QOL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample consisted of 42 consecutive subjects with obsessive compulsive disorder, out of which 21 (50%) had anger attacks. The obsessive compulsive disorder subjects with and without anger attacks did not show significant differences in terms of sociodemographic variables, duration of illness, treatment, and family history. However, subjects with anger attacks had significantly higher prevalence of panic attacks and comorbid depression. Significantly more subjects with anger attacks exhibited aggressive acts toward spouse, parents, children, and other relatives in the form of yelling and threatening to hurt, trying to hurt, and threatening to leave. However, the two groups did not differ significantly in terms of QOL, except for the psychological domain being worse in the subjects with anger attacks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anger attacks are present in half of the patients with obsessive compulsive disorder, and they correlate with the presence of comorbid depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Nitesh Prakash
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Painuly
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grover
authors.forename: Surendra Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mattoo
authors.forename: Nitin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gupta