Influence of age and tic disorders on obsessive-compulsive disorder in a pediatric sample.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous disorder with emerging data suggesting that age of onset and/or the presence of tics may define clinically important subgroups.

Objective: This study set out to evaluate the impact of age and tic disorders on the symptom profile in a pediatric sample of patients with OCD ascertained from a specialty clinic.

Methods: Eighty children with OCD (50 boys, 30 girls) were assessed for symptom type, severity, age of onset, presence of a tic disorder, and functional status.