The impact of obsessive-compulsive disorder in pregnancy on quality of life

Aim. To examine the effects of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) on quality of life in pregnant women. Material and method. Twenty-five pregnant women diagnosed as OCD in two university outpatient clinics were included for the study. Twenty-five pregnant women with no mental disorders and the same sociodemographic properties were taken as the control group. The diagnosis of OCD was confirmed with the DSM-IV Axis-I Disorders Structured Clinic Interview Diagnosis/Clinic Version (SCID-I/CV). In order to measure the severity of OCD Yale-Brown Obsession and Compulsion Scale was performed. Quality of life was evaluated by WHO (World Health Organisation) Life Quality Scale - Short Form (WHOQOL-Brief). Results. The whole subgroup of points of WHOQOL-Brief was significantly lower in OCD patients compared to control group (in all subgroups P<0.01). There was a negative correlation between the Y-BOCS obsession and compulsion subpoints and total points with the physical health (P <0.05), psychological health (P <0.001) and social relationship (P <0.01) of WHOQOL-Brief. No significant association was found with enviromental areas. Besides, there was a negative correlation between the duration of OCD and WHOQOL-Brief psychological health subarea (P <0.05). Conclusion. OCD negatively effects the quality of life in pregnant women and is correlated with the severity of the disorder.