Loss of functioning and associated risk factors in obsessive compulsive disorder (A cross-sectional study)

Introduction: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic disease with repetitive obsessions and compulsions that affects individuals daily life functioning. Functionig is a covering concept of all body functions, activity and participation. OCD affects of individual's social relationships, ocuupational fuctioning and life quality in a negative way. There is also functioning loss in depression, but some of the studies determined that functionality loss in depression is less than OCD and schizophrenia. If there are studies assess fuctioning by shorter scales; there are a few cross-sectional studies assessed by comprehensive scales. Objective: We aimed to evaluate loss of functioning in patients with OCD and compare with the loss of functioning in patients with depression. Material and methods: Sixty patients with OCD and sixty patients with depression included in the study. Following SCID-I/CV psychiatric evaluation, sociodemographic data form, Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS), Y-BOCS symptom checklist, Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS), Hamilton anxiety rating scale(HARS), The Social Functioning Scale were completed in the patient group. In single variable analyses, Student's t test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation, Kruskal Wallis ANOVA and Mann Whitney U, Spearman's Rho correlation tests were performed. Results: In the depression patients, we found higher functioning levels in the higher educated groups. We found younger patients have higher functioning levels in social activities and independence-performance scores. In the young individuals social activity scores found higher. Independence-performance scores found lower in the patients who hospitalizated before. In 88 the OCD patients we found contamination, suspicion, agressive obsessions; cleaning/washing, checking, repeating compulsions frequently. We found agressive obsessions, suspicion obsessions and checking compulsions affect functioning negatively. And also we found higher occupational functioning scores in unmarried OCD patients and higher employment , social activity and relationship scores in high educated OCD patients. As similar to depression patients we found fuctioning scores are lower in the OCD patients who hospitalizated. Discussion: In both OCD and depression patients education level and hospitalization effect on functioning scores. Because of this reason there is need in improving education levels and fast, effective treatment without hospitalization in both patient groups. Keywords: Obssesive compulsive disorder, depression, functioning, social functioning.