Pugi D, Angelo NL, Ragucci F, Garcia-Hernandez MD, Rosa-Alcázar AI, Pozza A. Longitudinal Course of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of Three Years of Prospective Cohort Studies.
CLINICAL NEUROPSYCHIATRY 2023;
20:293-308. [PMID:
37791089 PMCID:
PMC10544256 DOI:
10.36131/cnfioritieditore20230409]
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Abstract
Objective
During the pandemic, there has been a slight increase in obsessive-compulsive symptoms in both clinical and non-clinical samples. Three years after the pandemic, we conducted the first systematic review of prospective cohort studies assessing temporal changes in obsessive-compulsive symptoms and their extent in both patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and community samples, regardless of age or socio-cultural background, during any phase of the pandemic.
Method
Prospective cohort studies were included if validated self-report questionnaires or standardized interviews for obsessive-compulsive symptoms were used. Studies that enrolled OCD patients were included if OCD was diagnosed before the outbreak of the pandemic. The following were our exclusion criteria: cross-sectional and case-control studies, single case studies, editorials, commentaries, and reviews. Studies assessing the effectiveness of an intervention were excluded.
Results
15 studies were included. Overall, studies showed a small upsurge in obsessive-compulsive symptoms, especially washing/contamination symptoms, during the coronavirus outbreak. The severity of symptoms seemed to follow the pattern of restriction measures and the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
Conclusions
Factors contributing to the worsening of obsessive-compulsive symptoms during the pandemic were discussed.
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