Author: Khadija Chaudhry
Supervisor: Dr. Nosheen K. Rahman
Degree: M,Phil
Year: 2000-2002
University: Centre for Clinical Psychology, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract
OCD is widely studied in the West but little systematic work has been carried out in Pakistan. The present study aimed to investigate: firstly, the demographic characteristics of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and secondly to examine comorbidity of OCD with depression and schizophrenia. The present research was conducted in Lahore on 350 OCD patients taken from indoor and outdoor departments of five teaching hospitals and three private clinics, already diagnosed on the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases – tenth revision) criteria by the respective psychiatrists and psychologists. The total duration of the study was one year. Demographic data was collected through a semi structured interview on a specially constructed demographic questionnaire. Comorbidity of depression and schizophrenia with OCD was assessed using the Symptom Checklist-Revised (SCL-R). The results showed no gender differences, as there were an almost equal number of males and females suffering from OCD. The phenomenon of OCD patients being first born was also not found. Males had a significantly earlier age at onset as compared to the females. There was a greater incidence of OCD in relatives of the OCD patients than any other psychopathology. Comorbidity of OCD with depression was more than the comorbidity of OCD with schizophrenia. The results related to demographic variables are somewhat different from those previously reported in the Western literature, which may well be due to cultural differences. The patterns of comorbidity were similar to those reported in the previous studies.
Keywords: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Depression, Schizophrenia, Comorbidity.
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