Psychopathology in first-degree relatives of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder patents

Abstract

Objective: This study was designed to investigate obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and other psychopathologies in parents and siblings of early onset OCD cases. Methods: Subjects enrolled in the study were 50 parents and 12 siblings of 25 children and adolescents with OCD. Parents of offsprings were assessed to screen psychiatric disorders using clinical interviews and the Structure Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I). Siblings of children and adolescents with OCD were also screened systematically with clinical interviews and either with Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children, Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) or with SCID-I depending on age. Results: Psychopathologies in the mothers which were evaluated with clinical interviews and SCID-I revealed significantly increased anxiety disorders in general in mothers of OCD cases than control mothers. When anxiety disorders were evaluated separately, OCD was found to be significantly higher in mothers of patients with OCD compared to mothers of control group. Fathers of OCD cases were found to have more tic disorders than the fathers of control cases and the result was statistically significant. No significant difference was found between siblings of both groups according to psychopathology. Conclusion: Mothers of children and adolescents with OCD had significantly higher OCD than the control mothers. This finding is consistent with the idea of familial tendency of OCD which begins during childhood and adolescence. Because tic disorders are more frequent in families of patients with OCD, it is thought that OCD and tic disorders may be different manifestations of same pathology or both disorders have a similar genetic basis. In the present study significantly higher tic disorders in fathers of patients with OCD compared to that of controls were found which suggested that tic disorder in fathers might be a predictor of OCD in the offspring. Though in the current study no difference was found between siblings according to psychopathology, it should be kept in mind that siblings of patients with OCD are still at risk for psychopathology and they should be followed carefully.