The impact of COVID-19 on patients with OCD: A one-year follow-up study

• Published in: Journal of psychiatric research Vol. 147; pp. 307 - 312
• Main Authors: Moreira-de-Oliveira, Maria E., de Menezes, Gabriela B., Loureiro, Carla P., Laurito, Luana D., Albertella, Lucy, Fontenelle, Leonardo F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2022
• Subjects: Brazil - epidemiology; COVID-19; COVID-19 - complications; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - psychology; Pandemics; Psychological distress; SARS-CoV-2; Brazil; COVID-19; Psychological distress; Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• ISSN: 0022-3956; 1879-1379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.01.065

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns regarding its psychological effects on people with preexisting psychiatric disorders have been raised, particularly obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Nevertheless, only a few longitudinal studies have been performed, and a more longstanding follow-up of a clinical sample is needed. In this study, our aim was to investigate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on symptom changes in a sample of Brazilian OCD patients for about a one-year period. Thirty OCD outpatients seen in a specialized OCD clinic in Rio de Janeiro were evaluated at baseline and after one year (during the pandemic). Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected along with a questionnaire aimed at quantifying the number of stressful events related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparisons between two time points (pre vs. during COVID-19) and two subgroups (patients with vs without worsening of symptoms) were carried out. As a group, OCD patients treated with SRIs had an overall stabilization of symptoms throughout the follow-up period, regardless of the number of stressful experiences related to coronavirus (median baseline YBOCS remained 22.0 at follow-up). In addition, when individually analyzed, even those who reported an increase in their symptoms did not describe a greater number of COVID-19 related events. Patients with OCD, who were under treatment, did not show significant symptom deterioration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individual variations in OCD symptom severity did not seem to be related to experiences linked to coronavirus.