Phenomenological study in 90 patients younger than 18 years old with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

Objective: Determine clinical demonstrations of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in children and Peruvian adolescents.

Material and Methods: It is presented a phenomenological study in 90 patients younger than 18 years old with obsessive compulsive disorder diagnosis in children and adolescents psychiatry in Lima, since January 2000 to January 2003. The diagnosis was made using DSM-IV criteria. It was classified the type of obsessions and compulsions using the check list from the Yale Brown scale. The severity of the disorder was valued using the Child Yale Brown scale and Global scale. It was determined incidence among first grade relatives, by means of interviewing parents and brothers.

Results: The 62% were male and the 38% female. The average age was 13.7 years old ± 2.6 years. The beginning age of the disorder was 11.5 years old ± 2.9. The Yale Brown scale middle value at the moment of the diagnosis was 25.4 ± 6.2 (Severe obsessive compulsive disorder); while the global functioning middle value was 60 – 51. The 78% from these patients had an unique episode of illness, with an illness average time of 16 month. The most frequent obsessions were aggressions obsessions (66%), contamination obsessions (60%) and sexual content obsessions (28%). The most frequent compulsions were cleanness compulsions (57%), rituals which involved others persons (28%), and repetition rituals (24%). More than 72% of these patients had at least two obsessions and two compulsions. The 27.5% from these patients had at least one first grade relative with obsessive compulsive disorder diagnosis.

Conclusion: The majority clinical demonstrations of the obsessive compulsive disorder in children and Peruvian adolescents are similar to the found by other authors in other contexts.