Impact of obsessive-compulsive disorder on quality of life
Introduction
Given that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the 10th leading cause of disability of all medical conditions in the industrialized world [1], comparatively little is known about psychosocial functioning and quality of life (QOL) in OCD, particularly with regard to their relationship with symptom severity. Although there have been several previous studies of QOL in OCD, they have, in general, been limited by small sample size, lack of standardized or objective clinical ratings, and sample biases due to exclusion criteria limiting Axis I and Axis II comorbidity.
Several studies have investigated impairment found in individuals with OCD using self-report measures sent to members of national organizations involved in OCD [2], [3], [4]. Two studies evaluated the relationship between severity of OCD symptoms and QOL [5], [6], whereas other studies assessed the role of treatment in improving QOL [7], [8], [9], [10]. All these studies reported substantial impairment in QOL in OCD.
This is the first study, to our knowledge, to assess multiple aspects of QOL in individuals with OCD using both rater-administrated and self-report standard measures in a large sample of affected individuals seeking treatment for OCD, with no exclusions based on comorbid Axis I or II disorders. We hypothesized that all aspects of QOL would be affected, and that severity of OCD symptoms and depressive symptoms would be associated with impairment in QOL.
Section snippets
Subjects
Participants were 197 consecutive adult individuals recruited to be part of a 5-year prospective naturalistic study of course of illness in OCD. Inclusion criteria were 18 years or older, primary OCD (defined as the disorder participants considered their biggest problem overall), and treatment seeking. Recruitment was from a large OCD clinic, group psychiatric practices, psychologists' offices, and mental health clinics in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The only exclusion criterion was having
Results
Table 1 shows the Q-LES-Q scores for OCD subjects compared with community norms. Mean Q-LES-Q scores for the OCD subjects on all the summary scales were significantly lower (more impaired) than the means from a community sample. Although the validity of these community norms is not well established, large effect sizes were found for all domains (0.81-1.99). Table 2 lists the Medical Outcomes Survey 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) scores for our sample compared with community norms.
Discussion
This study demonstrates substantial impairment in QOL and psychosocial function in the largest representative clinical sample of individuals with OCD studied to date using both self-reports and rater-administered measures of global QOL. A third of the sample was unable to work because of psychopathology. Our findings support previous studies with smaller sample sizes and methodological limitations that also demonstrated impairment. Marked impairment was found in all specific domains of QOL that
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