Quality of life, family burden and associated factors in relatives with obsessive-compulsive disorder

The aim of this study is to assess the quality of life (QoL), family burden and psychiatric disorders in first-degree relatives of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and to compare them with healthy controls and their relatives.

Forty patients with OCD and 47 of their first-degree relatives as well as 40 healthy subjects and 45 of their first-degree relatives were recruited in this study. OCD and comorbid anxiety or mood disorders were determined by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Comorbid Axis II disorders were diagnosed with the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition Personality Disorders. Type and severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms were assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, and the disability of patients with OCD was evaluated with the WHO DAS II. Family burden and QoL in the relatives were evaluated with the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) protocol and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-Brief, respectively.

The mean ZBI score of family members of OCD patients was higher than the control relatives. Linear regression analysis indicated that the independent factors associated with ZBI were duration of OCD, comorbid major depressive disorder and poorer insight. Compared with those of control relatives, the QoL of relatives of patients with OCD was significantly lower in all domains. While the diagnosis of major depressive disorder in relatives of OCD patients was significantly higher than the control relatives, the diagnosis of any anxiety disorder did not differ.

Our study provides evidence that OCD not only affects the lives of patients but also their family members.