Towards the correlates of stressful life events as precipitants of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a systematic review and metanalysis.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent condition with multifactorial etiology involving genetic and environmental factors. The present study aims to summarize the correlates of stressful life events (SLEs) in OCD by reviewing studies comparing OCD associated or not with SLEs before its onset. To do so, a systematic review was performed by searching PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO databases for studies published between the database's inception and November 27, 2023.

Online group therapies for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma-related disorders: a systematic review.

Background: This systematic review examined the existing literature to determine the evidence supporting the efficacy of online group treatments for anxiety-, obsessive-compulsive- and trauma-related disorders (AOTDs).

Methods: A systematic review using the PUBMED, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials databases with no language, date, or study design filters was performed. The inclusion criteria comprised studies that examined individuals who had received a formal diagnosis of AOTDs, were aged 18 years or older, and had baseline and endpoint assessments of symptom severity using formal tools.

Habit-, reward- and fear-related motivations in alcohol use disorder: A one-year prospective study.

Objective: Cross-sectional studies show that habitual use of alcohol is associated with severity of alcohol dependence reflected across a range of domains and lower number of detoxifications in multiple settings. In this study, we investigated whether alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients with greater habitual use of alcohol at baseline showed worse outcomes after one year of follow-up.

Methods: A sample of inpatients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) alcohol use disorder (AUD) was assessed at baseline (n = 50) and after one year (n = 30).

Assessing Adherence to Vaccination, Social Distancing and Other Preventive Behaviors by Patients With Mental Disorders in the Context Of Covid-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review Protocol.

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a worldwide public health crisis, leading to significant disruptions in societal behaviors and norms. Within the affected population, individuals with mental health disorders are considered a vulnerable group, experiencing higher infection rates and poorer outcomes. These adverse outcomes can be attributed to various factors, including inadequate adherence to vaccination and other preventive measures.

A "transatlantic" follow-up study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive symptom fluctuations may be contingent on the number of stressful pandemic-related events and the resilience characterizing different cultures. We investigated the influence of the pandemic on symptom changes in a sample of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients from Brazil and Italy, two countries that were highly affected by the outbreak.

Methods: Ninety-one OCD outpatients were evaluated at baseline and about one year later.

Concealing, Tolerating, and Adjusting to Emotions in Obsessive-Compulsive and Anxiety Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Although research has shown that mood and anxiety disorders manifest disturbed emotion regulation, it is unclear whether anxiety disorders differ between each other in terms of their emotion regulation strategies. In the present study, we investigated whether patients with anxiety disorders present different affective styles.

Methods: We assessed affective styles of 32 obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, 29 social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients, 29 panic disorder (PD) patients, and 20 healthy controls through the Affective Style Questionnaire (ASQ).

A longitudinal evaluation of free will related cognitions in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often feel compelled to perform (compulsive) behaviors, thus raising questions regarding their free will beliefs and experiences. In the present study, we investigated if free will related cognitions (free will beliefs or experiences) differed between OCD patients and healthy subjects and whether these cognitions predicted symptom changes after a one-year follow up.

Methods: Sixty OCD outpatients were assessed for their beliefs in and experiences of free will at baseline and after one year of treatment.

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

Background: 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.

The Remission of Social Anxiety Disorder After Trauma: A Case Report of Posttraumatic Growth?

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) describes positive psychological change and improvement beyond one's previous functioning. It manifests as a change of self-perception, improvement in the relationship with others, and a better outlook on life. Despite consistent literature on the occurrence of PTG in healthy subjects, there is still a dearth of studies in people with pre-existing mental disorders, especially anxiety disorders.

Are mental disorders related to disbelief in free will? A systematic review.

Background: The nature and existence of free will have been debated for centuries. Since some psychiatric disorders are known to interfere with one's ability to control their actions and thoughts (e.g.

Habitual versus affective motivations in obsessive-compulsive disorder and alcohol use disorder.

Objective: To (1) confirm whether the Habit, Reward, and Fear Scale is able to generate a 3-factor solution in a population of obsessive-compulsive disorder and alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients; (2) compare these clinical groups in their habit, reward, and fear motivations; and (3) investigate whether homogenous subgroups can be identified to resolve heterogeneity within and across disorders based on the motivations driving ritualistic and drinking behaviors.

Methods: One hundred and thirty-four obsessive-compulsive disorder (n = 76) or AUD (n = 58) patients were assessed with a battery of scales including the Habit, Reward, and Fear Scale, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the Alcohol Dependence Scale, the Behavioral Inhibition/Activation System Scale, and the Urgency, (lack of ) Premeditation, (lack of ) Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency Impulsive Behavior Scale.

Results: A 3-factor solution reflecting habit, reward, and fear subscores explained 56.

Fear driven compulsive behaviour is associated with worse long-term outcome in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objectives: In this retrospective study of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), we assessed the relationship between different motivational drivers of compulsive behaviours and the response to naturalistic treatments (based mostly on high dose serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SRIs]).

Methods: Seventy-six OCD patients were assessed with a structured diagnostic interview; the Habit, Reward and Fear Scale-Revised (HRFS-R); the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS); the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); and the OCD Retrospective Assessment of Treatment Response (RATS), which includes information on SRIs administration (e.g.

The relationship between obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders: A question of diagnostic boundaries or simply severity of symptoms?

Background: A growing number of studies are questioning the validity of current DSM diagnoses, either as "discrete" or distinct mental disorders and/or as phenotypically homogeneous syndromes. In this study, we investigated how symptom domains in patients with a main diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (PD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) coaggregate. We predicted that symptom domains would be unrelated to DSM diagnostic categories and less likely to cluster with each other as severity increases.

A study on the correlates of habit-, reward-, and fear-related motivations in alcohol use disorder.

Objective: We assessed self-reported drives for alcohol use and their impact on clinical features of alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients. Our prediction was that, in contrast to "affectively" (reward or fear) driven drinking, "habitual" drinking would be associated with worse clinical features in relation to alcohol use and higher occurrence of associated psychiatric symptoms.

Methods: Fifty-eight Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) alcohol abuse patients were assessed with a comprehensive battery of reward- and fear-based behavioral tendencies.

Duration of untreated illness in a cross-diagnostic sample of obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder.

Objective: In this study, we compared duration of untreated illness (DUI) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (PD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients and investigated its correlates, both within specific diagnoses and across the whole sample.

Methods: Eighty-eight patients (33 OCD, 24 SAD, and 31 PD) had their diagnosis confirmed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, were assessed for treatment-seeking variables, and were evaluated with instruments aimed at quantifying transdiagnostic features (i.e.

Predictors of benzodiazepine use in a transdiagnostic sample of panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder patients.

We investigated the rates of current and past benzodiazepine (BZD) use in a sample of 102 subjects attending specialized anxiety disorder clinics, including panic disorder (PD; N = 36), social anxiety disorder (SAD; N = 28) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; N = 38) patients. Almost 56% of the entire sample was using BZDs at the moment of the assessment, and 74.5% described having used them at some point during their lifetimes.

The psychiatric facet of hyperhidrosis: demographics, disability, quality of life, and associated psychopathology.

We compared the sociodemographic and psychiatric features of treatment-seeking patients with (n=17) and without (n=29) primary hyperhidrosis (HYH) attending an outpatient dermatological clinic. Subjects were assessed with a structured clinical questionnaire, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, as well as the Screening for Abnormal Olfactory Experiences (to assess for symptoms of olfactory reference syndrome), the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, the Social Phobia Inventory, the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, the Skindex-16 (a quality of life measure for patients with skin diseases), and the Sheehan Disability Scale. Patients with HYH were more frequently younger (p=0.

A study of poor insight in social anxiety disorder.

We investigated levels of insight among patients with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) as compared to patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and evaluated whether levels of insight in SAD were related to specific sociodemographic and/or clinical features. Thirty-seven SAD patients and 51 OCD patients attending a tertiary obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders clinic were assessed with a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, a structured diagnostic interview, the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale (BABS), the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and the Treatment Adherence Survey-patient version (TAS-P). According to the BABS, SAD patients exhibited insight levels that were as low as those exhibited by OCD patients, with up to 29.

Exaggerating, mislabeling or simulating obsessive-compulsive symptoms: case reports of patients claiming to have obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: There are no reported cases of factitious or simulated obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, over the last years, our clinic has come across a number of individuals that seem to exaggerate, mislabel or even intentionally "produce" obsessive and/or compulsive symptoms in order to be diagnosed with OCD.

Methods: In this study, experienced clinicians working on a university-based OCD clinic were requested to provide clinical vignettes of patients who, despite having a formal diagnosis of OCD, were felt to display non-genuine forms of this condition.

An updated review of antidepressants with marked serotonergic effects in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Introduction: Since the recognition of the effectiveness of clomipramine in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a number of recent empirical studies have confirmed a key role of the serotonergic (5-HT) system in the pathophysiology of OCD. The current study presents a review of the existing double-blind studies testing 5-HT antidepressants in OCD.

Areas Covered: A systematic review was performed to identify double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials investigating the efficacy of antidepressants with marked 5-HT effects [clomipramine, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), venlafaxine, desvenlafaxine, duloxetine, mirtazapine, agomelatine, vortioxetine and vilazodone] in the short-term treatment of OCD.

Can hoarding be a symptom of social anxiety disorder? A case study.

Background: Hoarding is defined as the excessive collection and failure to discard possessions of apparently little value, leading to clutter, distress, and disability. Although patients with hoarding typically may feel ludicrous for not discarding useless, and sometimes bizarre, possessions, we are not aware of any previous description of patients displaying hoarding as a result of social anxiety.

Method: Single case report.

Second-generation antidepressants in social anxiety disorder: meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials.

Rationale: A growing number of controlled clinical trials suggest that different second-generation antidepressants (SGA) may be effective in the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD).

Objectives: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of SGA in SAD and to investigate possible differences in their efficacy.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of all double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trials involving second-generation antidepressants in adult patients with SAD published on PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Current Controlled Trials databases until July 2009.

History of trauma and dissociative symptoms among patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder.

We aimed to compare the history of trauma and the profile and severity of dissociative symptoms of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to those of patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Patients with OCD (n = 34) and patients with SAD (n = 30) were examined with the following instruments: Trauma History Questionnaire (THQ), Dissociative Experience Scale (DES), Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Patients with OCD reported significantly lower rates of exposure to traumatic events.