Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among Iraqi undergraduate medical students in time of COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common mental disorder affecting millions of people. Its onset and peak are during late teens making university students a priority target. Medical student perhaps is at greater risk for developing OCD while corona COVID-19 is expected to more exaggerate symptoms mainly with extra hygiene and cleanliness practices. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of OCD symptoms among Iraqi medical students, and to assess the associated psychological symptoms and its correlates. An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted among Iraqi medical students during the period from August to October 2020. An online anonymous, voluntary, and self-administered questionnaire based on the 18 questions Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised scale (OCI-R) was used to collect the data. RESULTS: A total of 1644 students had filled the questionnaire. Females were 1116 (67.9%), while 1153 (70.1%) had reported accompanying mental symptoms. Of which worry and stress were the most prevalent with 674 (25.9%) and 617 (23.7%) respectively. However, 707 (43%) have probable OCD symptoms that need further assessment. Unpleasant thoughts were the most prevalent symptoms with 51.8%. Surprisingly, the washing and contamination scales were low at 14% and 19.4% while repeating certain numbers was the least with 8%. OCD symptoms were significantly related to younger age and earlier years of study. Further, all accompanied mental symptoms were significantly associated with probable OCD status. CONCLUSION: High prevalence of OCD among medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. No association of OCD with gender and family history. Younger students and early years of study were more likely to suffer from OCD symptoms.