Disgust propensity in obsessive-compulsive disorder: cross-sectional and prospective relationships

Findings from non-clinical samples suggest that disgust propensity is associated with contamination concerns in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, studies of clinical samples have yielded conflicting results. We investigated the relationship between disgust propensity and OCD symptoms in a clinical sample and examined whether changes in disgust propensity are associated with changes in OCD symptoms.

One hundred and nine OCD participants completed measures of disgust propensity and OCD symptoms. Sixty of these underwent a six-month follow-up assessment.

At the baseline assessment, disgust propensity was associated with all OCD symptom dimensions except hoarding. Changes in overall disgust propensity between baseline and the six-month follow-up assessment were associated with changes in overall self-reported OCD symptoms but not with changes in contamination-based OCD symptoms or changes in interviewer-assessed OCD symptoms.

There was substantial participant attrition between the baseline and follow-up assessments.

Our study is the first to investigate prospective relationships between disgust propensity and OCD across a six-month interval. Our findings suggest that if there is an association between changes in disgust propensity and changes in contamination-based OCD symptoms its magnitude is likely to be small.