title: Anhedonia in obsessive-compulsive disorder: beyond comorbid depression.
abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been linked to reward dysfunctions, highlighting a possible role of anhedonia in OCD. Surprisingly, anhedonia in OCD has never been evaluated. Moreover, although nicotine typically has anti-anhedonic effects, anecdotal reports suggest low prevalence rates of smoking in OCD. To address these two phenomena, 113 individuals with OCD completed a battery of questionnaires assessing symptom severity, anhedonia, and smoking. 28.3% of the sample met criteria for clinically significant anhedonia, which correlated with Y-BOCS scores (r=0.44), even when controlling for depressive symptoms. 13.3% of the sample endorsed current smoking, a lower rate than seen in psychiatric disorders (40-90%) and the general adult population (19%). Results highlight high rates of anhedonia and yet reduced prevalence of smoking in OCD. In contrast to the known positive association between anhedonia and smoking, a negative association emerged. Future research is needed to address the unique interface between anhedonia and reward responsiveness in OCD. Potential clinical implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: aabramovitch@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Amitai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abramovitch
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Diego A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Pizzagalli
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reuman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilhelm
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D059445:Anhedonia; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D057181:Pleasure / Q000187:drug effects; D015995:Prevalence; D012201:Reward; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009538:Nicotine
keywords: Behavioral addiction; Nicotine; OCD; Pleasure; Reward; Smoking