Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK.
Behav Res Ther. 2009 Feb;47(2):99-104. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2008.10.015. Epub 2008 Oct 22.
It is often suggested that early onset of disorders leads to higher severity and greater treatment refractoriness. Previous research has investigated whether there are clinical and demographic differences between groups of individuals who have experienced onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) at an early or later age. Results suggest that individuals who report an early onset (EO) of the disorder report greater severity and persistence of symptoms. However, few studies have investigated whether there are differences in treatment response. The present study represents a preliminary investigation in the setting of a specialist OCD clinic. Analysis was undertaken using clinical records to investigate whether there were clinical differences and in response to cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) between individuals who developed OCD at an early (n=22) or late (n=23) age. No differences in treatment response between the groups were found. However, the EO group were rated as being more severe across a range of measures at start of treatment, and hence at end of treatment they remained more severe than the LO group. This has clinical implications, suggesting that more treatment sessions may be required for individuals who report an EO of symptoms.
有人常说，疾病早期发作会导致更严重的病情和更高的治疗抵抗性。先前的研究已经调查了在强迫症（OCD）发病年龄较早或较晚的人群中，是否存在临床和人口统计学差异。结果表明，报告疾病早期发作（EO）的个体报告症状的严重程度和持续时间更高。然而，很少有研究调查治疗反应是否存在差异。本研究代表了在专业 OCD 诊所环境中的初步调查。分析使用临床记录进行，以调查在早期（n=22）或晚期（n=23）发病的个体之间是否存在治疗反应方面的临床差异。两组之间未发现治疗反应的差异。然而，EO 组在治疗开始时的一系列测量中被评定为更严重，因此在治疗结束时，他们仍然比 LO 组更严重。这具有临床意义，表明报告症状早期发作的个体可能需要更多的治疗次数。
