Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
PLoS One. 2021 Dec 13;16(12):e0261169. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261169. eCollection 2021.
Although obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most common mental disorders, it takes up to 17 years for patients with OCD to receive adequate therapy. According to existing outdated literature, this study aimed to investigate the current duration between symptom onset and diagnosis and between diagnosis and the beginning of therapy separately.
In a cross-sectional study, N = 100 patients diagnosed with OCD undergoing treatment in a psychiatric outpatient department were assessed, using self-report questionnaires on sociodemographic and clinical variables. Based on self-reported information, the durations between age at symptom onset and age at diagnosis, and between age at diagnosis and beginning of therapy were calculated. To investigate associated factors, two subgroups of patients, one with a short duration between symptom onset and diagnosis < 7 years, and another with a long duration between symptom onset and diagnosis ≥ 7 years, respectively, were compared.
Patients reported first symptoms of OCD at a mean age of 18.72 years. The mean duration between age at symptom onset and age at diagnosis was 12.78 years and the mean duration between age at diagnosis and the beginning of therapy was 1.45 years. Subgroup comparison indicated that patients with a short duration between symptom onset and diagnosis were significantly younger than patients with a long duration. However, patients with a short duration between symptom onset and diagnosis were at an older age when they reported first symptoms of OCD. Further, they showed less severe symptoms of OCD, higher functioning levels, and less self-stigmatization than patients with a long duration. It can be concluded that the duration until patients with OCD are diagnosed correctly and receive adequate treatment is still very long. Therefore, the duration between symptom onset and diagnosis should be shortened. Further, the duration between diagnosis and the beginning of therapy could be a good additional approach to reduce the overall duration of untreated disorder.
强迫症（OCD）是最常见的精神障碍之一，但患者接受充分治疗需要长达 17 年。根据现有过时文献，本研究旨在分别调查 OCD 患者从症状出现到诊断以及从诊断到开始治疗的时间。
在一项横断面研究中，对在精神病门诊接受治疗的 100 名被诊断为 OCD 的患者进行评估，使用自我报告问卷评估社会人口学和临床变量。根据自我报告的信息，计算症状出现年龄和诊断年龄之间以及诊断年龄和治疗开始年龄之间的时间。为了研究相关因素，将患者分为两个亚组，一个亚组的症状出现和诊断之间的时间间隔<7 年，另一个亚组的症状出现和诊断之间的时间间隔≥7 年。
患者报告 OCD 的首发症状的平均年龄为 18.72 岁。症状出现年龄和诊断年龄之间的平均时间间隔为 12.78 年，诊断年龄和治疗开始年龄之间的平均时间间隔为 1.45 年。亚组比较表明，症状出现和诊断之间的时间间隔较短的患者显著比时间间隔较长的患者年龄更小。然而，症状出现和诊断之间的时间间隔较短的患者在报告 OCD 首发症状时年龄更大。此外，与时间间隔较长的患者相比，他们的 OCD 症状严重程度较低，功能水平较高，自我污名化程度较低。可以得出结论，从 OCD 患者被正确诊断并接受充分治疗的时间仍然很长。因此，应缩短从症状出现到诊断的时间。此外，从诊断到开始治疗的时间也可能是减少未治疗障碍总时间的良好附加方法。
