Clinical profile of schizophrenia comorbid with obsessive-compulsive symptoms: A comparative study

Describe and compare the clinical profile of schizophrenic patients with and without obsessive-compulsive symptoms and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients.

A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was carried out at the psychiatry department of Hassan II University Hospital in Fez over 12 months to compare three groups of patients: "schizo-obsessive" (n=32), "schizophrenia" (n=34), and "OCD" (n=46). All participants (n=112) were assessed using the mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (MINI), the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS), the Brown assessment of beliefs scale (BABS), the Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A), the Beck's depression inventory (BDI-II), the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), and the clinical global impressions-severity scale (CGI-S).

The "schizo-obsessive" group differed from the "schizophrenia" group in: more severe psychotic symptoms (mean=64.16±17.049, P<0.001), higher anxiety (mean=8.87±5,655, P<0.001) and depression (mean=7.50±5.989, P<0.001) scores, more prevalent suicide attempts (46.9%), higher illness severity score (mean=5.13±1.157, P=0.02), and more professional disinsertion (78.1%). The "schizo-obsessive" group (mean= 14.47±3.388) had significantly poor insight (P<0.001) compared to the "OCD" group (mean= 8.35±4.542). There were similarities in the obsessive and compulsive themes between the "schizo-obsessive" and the "OCD" groups, with no significant difference of severity (P=0.26).

A careful assessment of obsessive symptomatology is essential in schizophrenia for better patient management and prognosis.