The containment measures implemented to reduce the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic can increase the risk of serious mental disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The general fear of getting infected and the importance given to personal hygiene, may have a negative impact on this clinical population. In a group of patients with OCD who had completed an evidence-based therapeutic path for OCD before the quarantine, this study evaluated the changes on OCD symptoms during the quarantine and investigated the effects of contamination symptoms and remission state before the quarantine on OCD symptom worsening during the quarantine. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive (Y-BOCS) Severity score, administered before the quarantine, was re-administered after six weeks since the beginning of the complete lockdown. A significant increase in obsession and compulsion severity emerged. Remission status on OCD symptoms and having contamination symptoms before the quarantine were significantly associated with more elevated OCD symptom worsening during the quarantine. To our knowledge, this is the first study which assessed OCD symptoms at the COVID-19 time. Our results support the need to improve relapse prevention during the period of social restrictions and develop alternative strategies such as online consultations and digital psychiatric management.

BD is associated with dysfunction of HPA axis activity, with important pathophysiological implications. Targeting HPA axis dysfunctions might be a novel strategy to improve the outcomes of BD.

Deficits in real world social functioning are common in people with schizophrenia and the treatment of social skills deficits has been a long-time treatment strategy. However, negative (i.e., deficit) symptoms also appear to contribute to real-world social dysfunction. In this study, we combined data from three separate studies of people with schizophrenia (total n=561) who were assessed with identical methods. We examined the prediction of real-world social functioning, rated by high contact clinicians, and compared the influence of negative symptoms and social skills measured with performance-based methods on these outcomes. Negative symptom severity accounted for 20% of the variance in real-world social functioning, with social skills adding an incremental 2%. This 2% variance contribution was the same when social skills were forced into a regression model prior to negative symptom severity. When we examined individual negative symptoms, prediction of real-world social functioning increased to 28%, with active and passive social avoidance entering the equation. Adding depression into the predictor model improved the prediction of real-world social functioning significantly, but minimally (4% variance). Social skills contribute to real-world social outcomes, but treating negative symptoms appears to be a possible path for improving real-world social functioning in this population.