title: Obsessive-compulsive symptoms during the postpartum period. A prospective cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence of postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and to ascertain risk factors for this condition.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective cohort of postpartum women carried out from June to September 2009. A total of 461 women were recruited after delivery at a tertiary care institution. Demographic, psychiatric, and obstetric information were collected from each participant. Patients were contacted at 2 weeks and at 6 months postpartum and completed screening tests for depression, anxiety, and OCD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven percent of women screened positive for OCD symptoms at 2 weeks postpartum. At 6 months postpartum almost half of those women had persistent symptoms, and an additional 5.4% had developed new OCD symptoms. Concomitant positive screens for anxiety and depression were predictive factors for the development of OCD symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prior population-based studies estimate the prevalence of OCD to be approximately 2-3%. We found much higher rates among women in the postpartum period. The postpartum period is a high-risk time for the development of OCD symptoms. When such symptoms develop, they have a high likelihood of persisting for at least 6 months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA. emily-miller-1@fsm.northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Emily S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gollan
authors.forename: Dana R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Gossett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
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