Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Semmelweisstrasse 10, 04107 Leipzig, Germany.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2013 May;48(5):813-9. doi: 10.1007/s00127-012-0544-3. Epub 2012 Jul 5.
Several studies have described the deficits in the health care provided to persons with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), however, without making any distinction between psychiatric-psychotherapeutic professionals and general practitioners or other professionals. Also, the relation between subjectively defined early signs of the disorder, diagnosis and utilization of professional help has not yet been investigated systematically. The present study addresses these questions, using a self-rating questionnaire for patients with OCD (questionnaire on the utilization of professional help by patients with OCD).
Eighty-eight patients with OCD, who came to our University Hospital Outpatient Clinic for obsessive-compulsive disorders in Leipzig, participated in the study. The questionnaire, which had been developed specially for this survey, asked study participants to remember when they had first perceived signs of their disorder and their first-time utilization of professional help.
Patients with OCD and early onset of disorder sought professional help later than did patients with later onset of disorder. When professional help was utilized, it took 2 years on average before the diagnosis was made. Patients with OCD first consulted a psychiatrist or psychotherapist and not the general practitioner as their first professional contact person.
First signs in the early stages of OCD, particularly with an onset in childhood and adolescence have to be diagnosed at an earlier stage for appropriate treatment. Psychiatrists and psychotherapists, not primarily general practitioners, have a particularly high demand for further education about early diagnosis and treatment of OCD.
多项研究描述了强迫症（OCD）患者所接受的医疗服务不足，但没有区分精神科-心理治疗专业人员与全科医生或其他专业人员。此外，还没有系统地研究过主观定义的疾病早期迹象、诊断和专业帮助的使用之间的关系。本研究使用强迫症患者的自我评估问卷（强迫症患者专业帮助使用问卷）来解决这些问题。
88 名强迫症患者参加了本研究，他们曾因强迫症到莱比锡我们大学医院的门诊就诊。该问卷是专门为这项调查而开发的，要求研究参与者回忆他们首次出现疾病迹象和首次寻求专业帮助的时间。
强迫症患者和疾病早发患者比晚发患者寻求专业帮助的时间晚。当他们寻求专业帮助时，平均需要 2 年才能得到诊断。强迫症患者首先咨询的是精神科医生或心理治疗师，而不是全科医生作为他们的第一个专业联系人。
强迫症早期阶段的早期迹象，尤其是儿童和青少年时期的发病迹象，需要更早地进行诊断以进行适当的治疗。精神科医生和心理治疗师，而不是全科医生，对强迫症的早期诊断和治疗的继续教育需求特别高。
