Caraveo-Anduaga JJ, Colmenares BE

Language: Spanish
References: 15
Page: 65-73
PDF size: 135.51 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Antecedents: Prevalence studies of the OCD in Latin American countries are scarce. To our knowledge, the only epidemiological report in general population is from Puerto Rico. In Mexico, prevalent cases of OCD among 3086 patients attended at the Mexican Institute of Psychiatry was 2.3%, most of them being females and showing high comorbidity with depression as well as high frequency of OCD in first grade relatives. Nevertheless, clinical samples do not always reflect the phenomenon as it is presented in the general population.
Objectives: During 1995, a comprehensive psychiatric epidemiological study was carried out in Mexico City, the capital of the country, including the following objectives: 1. to estimate the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of OCD in the adult population aged 18 to 65 years old in Mexico City; 2. to identify the patterns of lifetime comorbidity in subjects with OCD; 3. to study the help-seeking process or the absence of it.
Method: This was a household survey where the sampling design was polietapic and stratified by sex. The response rate was 60.4%, although only 8% openly refused the interview. The final total sample size was 1932 subjects. The basic diagnostic instrument was an amended version of the CIDI 1.1 (University of Fresno), including the OCD section from the WHO-CIDI 1.1. Algorithms following the ICD-10 research diagnostic criteria were constructed using the SPSS 7.5 version program.
Results: Lifetime prevalence of OCD was 1.4% (0.8% in men and 1.8% in women); 12-month prevalence was 1.0 (0.7% in men and 1.2% in women). Mean age of onset was almost the same for men (mean: 22.5 years, s.d.: 11.9) and for women (mean: 22.1 years s.d.: 9.0). However, women cases showed an earlier onset (range: 5-43 vs. 15-59 years). Socio-demographic variables showed that OCD is more prevalent among young age-cohorts (18-34 years) and with higher education (10 or more years); men predominantly were single, while women were either divorced or living in free-union.
Lifetime comorbidity was present in 71% of the cases, and in women was higher than in men (ratio: 2.7); 49% reported a previous disorder and in 22% comorbidity was developed after OCD onset. Comorbidity in men was mainly with substance use disorders and predominantly preceding the OCD onset. In women, all kind of psychiatric disorders, excluding mania, alcohol and illegal substances abuse, were comorbid with OCD. Depressive episode was the most frequent first comorbid disorder following OCD onset, while specific phobias and generalized anxiety usually preceded OCD onset. Less than 10% of the affected population sought help or used medicines. Subjects with OCD but without any other disorder did not seek help at all. Results are expected to be of great value for other ongoing studies about OCD, specially in Mexico and Latin America, and to promote awareness of the problem both amount the general population and health professionals.

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