Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders Across the Lifespan
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a major psychiatric disorder of unclear causes characterized by intrusive and anxiety-provoking thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviours or mental acts (compulsions). These symptoms are time-consuming (often taking several hours a day) and cause substantial distress and disability. OCD typically starts in adolescence but can affect people of all ages. It is a prevalent disorder, affecting about 2% of the general population, and often co-occurs with other psychiatric disorders, such as major depression and anxiety disorders. OCD is associated with multiple medical and socioeconomic adversities. OCD is closely related to other frequent but less well understood psychiatric disorders, including:
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD): Preoccupation with perceived defects in appearance leading to repetitive behaviours (e.g., mirror checking).
- Hoarding Disorder: Persistent difficulty discarding possessions, resulting in congestive clutter in the house, causing marked disability.
- Hair Pulling Disorder (or Trichotillomania): Repetitive pulling of head and body hair, resulting in noticeable hair loss.
- Skin-Picking Disorder (or Excoriation Disorder): Repetitive picking of the skin resulting in skin lesions.
- Tourette Syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder: Multiple motor and/or vocal tics for a period of more than one year.
Collectively, OCD and the disorders listed above are known as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Related Disorders (OCD-RDs). These disorders generally start during childhood or adolescence but are associated with considerable morbidity and socioeconomic burden across the lifespan. Despite their relatively high combined prevalence, associated disability, and costs to society, OCD-RDs are severely under-detected, under-treated, and under-researched.