Comorbid depression in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): symptomatic differences to major depressive disorder

In this study, we compared the depressive symptom profile of a group of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, with comorbid depression, to a group of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The two groups (n=52 per group) were pair-wise matched on severity of depression as measured by the MADRS (mean 24.3 for each group) and we examined between-group differences on the individual MADRS item scores. The OCD group was significantly more symptomatic on items 3 (inner tension) and 9 (pessimistic thoughts) and significantly less symptomatic on items 4 (sleep) and 5 (appetite). We discuss these findings in the context of neurobiological bases for the two disorders.