title: Bipolar disorder comorbidity in patients with a primary diagnosis of OCD.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Bipolar disorder (BD) is considered to be a common comorbid condition in subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but there is limited literature on the prevalence of BD and its clinical correlates in those with a primary diagnosis of OCD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied the prevalence of BD in a sample of consecutively registered outpatients attending a specialty OCD clinic in India over a period of 13 months. One hundred and seventy-one patients with a primary diagnosis of OCD were assessed systematically using structured and semi-structured instruments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of lifetime BD in OCD was 4%. The OCD + BD group had an episodic course of OCD and higher rate of lifetime suicide attempts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BD may not be as highly prevalent in OCD as reported in literature. Those with OCD seem to have only a marginally higher risk for developing BD than the general population. A diagnosis of BD seems to have a pathoplastic effect on the course of OCD. Patients with OCD-BD comorbidity have to be specifically assessed for suicide risk.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry , National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) , Bangalore , India.
authors.forename: Gayatri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saraf
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry , National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) , Bangalore , India.
authors.forename: Imon
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry , National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) , Bangalore , India.
authors.forename: Biju
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Viswanath
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry , National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) , Bangalore , India.
authors.forename: Janardhanan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Narayanaswamy
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry , National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) , Bangalore , India.
authors.forename: Suresh Bada
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Math
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry , National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) , Bangalore , India.
authors.forename: Y C Janardhan
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006782:Hospitals, Special / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Obsessive-compulsive disorder; bipolar disorder; co-morbidity; mood disorders