Clinically related or predictive factors and impacts on long-term treatment outcomes of involvement behaviors in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) frequently exhibit involvement behaviors (IBs) in which they accommodate their caregivers to their OCD symptoms by 1) asking them for reassurance, 2) forcing them to participate in their rituals, or 3) forcing them to assist in avoidance according to the patients' rules or demands. Such behaviors correspond to those of their caregivers, and are referred to as family accommodation (FA).

Methods: We performed multifactorial comparisons between 256 OCD patients with and without IBs in order to examine the clinical characteristics and long-term treatment outcomes of OCD patients with IBs.

The impacts of elevated autism spectrum disorder traits on clinical and psychosocial features and long-term treatment outcome in adult patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: While a close relation between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been pointed out, there are few studies that have investigated whether highly elevated ASD traits may have significant impacts on clinical and psychosocial features as well as long-term treatment outcome in adult OCD patients.

Methods: We assessed ASD traits using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) in 81 Japanese patients with OCD. The relation between degree of ASD traits and clinical and psychosocial variables and the 48-week treatment outcomes was analyzed in the subjects.