Clinical profile of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children

INTRODUCTION: Most studies on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among children and adolescents pertain to adolescents and Indian data on childhood-onset OCD are scant. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical profile of OCD among children and adolescents with onset before the age of 12 years. METHODS: Children and adolescents who attended the outpatient clinic with a clinical diagnosis of OCD were included in the study. Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) was used to assess the phenomenology and severity of OCD. The diagnoses of OCD and comorbid disorders were based on DSM5 diagnostic criteria. Children with the onset of symptoms before the age of 12 years were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 46 children with OCD, 31 (16 boys and 15 girls) had onset before the age of 12 years. The youngest child was 6 years old and in 29% of children, OCD symptoms began before the age of 8 years. Family history of OCD, other mental illnesses, and tics disorder was present in 48.4%, 29%, and 12.9% of children, respectively. Comorbid tics disorder was present in 12 (38.6%) children and 1 (3%) child each had depression and conduct disorder. Common obsessions and compulsions were obsessions of contamination (77.4%) and washing and cleaning compulsions (87.1%). Miscellaneous obsessions and compulsions occurred in 25.8% and 77.4% of children, respectively. CONCLUSION: OCD is not uncommon in young children. The present study provides preliminary data on childhood-onset OCD among children and adolescents and points to the need for larger community-based studies.