Caregiver'S burden : a comparison between obsessive compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.

The present study compared burden of care between the key relatives of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia. For this study, consecutive key relatives of patients with either OCD (n=30) or schizophrenia (n=41) were evaluated with 40-item burden assessment schedule (BAS). In comparison with schizophrenia group, caregivers in OCD group had significantly high mean scores for the domains, spouse-related factor and caregiver's strategy of BAS. The degree of burden, evidenced by mean scores, was comparable between groups for other domains of BAS. Spouses and unemployed caregivers in OCD group had significantly elevated mean total burden scores. The present findings suggest that caregiver's burden imposed by OCD is either excess or nearly comparable to that of schizophrenia.