Obsessive-compulsive disorder: symptom overview and epidemiology

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with substantial psychosocial impairment. Although large-scale population surveys suggest that OCD is fairly common, relatively few individuals receive adequate treatment. OCD symptoms characterized by "altered risk appraisal" versus a "need for completeness/symmetry" may differentiate distinct subgroups within OCD. Although females are more likely to develop OCD, males have an earlier age of onset. Full remission of OCD symptoms is rare, but episodic improvement in OCD symptoms is not uncommon. Reproductive hormone cycles may have a substantial impact on the course of OCD in women. Many OCD patients will have coexisting mood or anxiety disorders. Personality disorders are frequently diagnosed in OCD, but may remit with effective antiobsessional treatment(s). The differential diagnosis of OCD is extensive and includes neurological disorders, substance-induced conditions, and other primary psychiatric illnesses.