Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the long-term quality of life (QoL) in a large sample of pediatric obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. The study included 220 pediatric OCD patients from the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS) who were evaluated at seven time points before, during, and after stepped-care treatment over a 3-year follow-up period. Data from three symptom severity trajectory classes formed the basis of the QoL evaluation: acute (n = 127, N = 147), slow (n = 46, N = 63), and limited responders (n = 47, N = 59). Patients’ QoL was assessed using parent and child ratings of the revised Questionnaire for Measuring Health-related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents (KINDL-R). QoL was analyzed by trajectory class using a random mixed effects model. The association between pre-treatment factors and long-term QoL was investigated across classes in a multivariate model. Three years after treatment, the acute responder class had reached QoL levels from a general population, whereas the limited responder class had not. The slow responder class reached norm levels for the child-rated QoL only. Higher levels of co-occurring externalizing symptoms before treatment were associated with lower parent-rated QoL during follow-up, while adolescence and higher levels of co-occurring internalizing symptoms were associated with lower child-rated QoL during follow-up. For some patients, residual OCD symptoms in the years after treatment, even at levels below assumed clinical significance, are associated with compromised QoL. Co-occurring symptoms could be part of the explanation. Assessing QoL after OCD treatment, beyond the clinician-rated symptom severity, could detect patients in need of further treatment and/or assessment. Trial registry: Nordic Long-term Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com; ISRCTN66385119.
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Acknowledgements
Thomas Jozefiak has kindly contributed to the project with norm data from his study on students from the general population.
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TrygFonden and Aarhus University.
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Tord Ivarsson has served on the speaker’s bureau of Shire Sweden. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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The study has been approved by the National Ethical Committees and data authorities in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and patients and parents provided written consent.
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Jensen, S., Hybel, K.A., Højgaard, D.R.M.A. et al. Quality of life in pediatric patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder during and 3 years after stepped-care treatment. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 31, 1377–1389 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01775-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01775-w