Obsessive compulsive phenomenology in a sample of Egyptian adolescent population

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Obsessive symptoms among children and adolescent age groups are increasing, an observation made by mental health professionals working with this age group. Our epidemiological study targeted secondary school students to estimate the prevalence of obsessive symptoms, obsessive compulsive disorder and their different obsessive compulsive contents. Methods: The study is cross sectional carried on 1299 secondary school students, the sample size was chosen based on an estimated Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) prevalence of 2% in literature. Equal samples were recruited from the 3 educative zones in Alexandria Governorate. Obsessive compulsive symptoms were assessed by the Arabic version of Lyeton obsessive inventory child version LOI-CV. Students scoring above 35 were subjected to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for children MINI-KID Arabic. OCD patient students detected by MINI-KID were assessed by psychiatric interview to confirm fulfilling criteria of OCD according to DSM IV-TR criteria. Different obsessive compulsive symptoms were assessed by a standardized questionnaire. Results: Among the studied sample (n = 1299), 201 students scored > 35 on LOI-CV i.e. 15.5% of the total sample have OCS. The prevalence of OCD among studied sample was 2.2% as 29 students from the OCS students were fulfilling diagnostic criteria for OCD according to DSM-IV TR. Common obsessive symptoms were of excessive conscience 65.5%, blasphemous 55.2%, repeated words 51.7% and sexual obsessions 48.2%. Conclusions: The prevalence of obsessive compulsive symptoms is high among adolescent age group. Cultural impact should be considered to better understand obsessive phenomenology, raising the importance of OCD study from a transcultural perspective.

A closer look: obsessive-compulsive symptoms among intern nurses amidst COVID-19 pandemic

“…For instance, a study conducted in Cairo found an incidence of OCD of 2.5% among 1,000 undergraduates attending a university clinic [ 40 ]. Another study revealed that the prevalence of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms (OCS) is 38.7% in secondary schools [ 41 ]. In a study conducted by Taher et al (2021) in Iraq, it was reported that a significant number, 1153 (70.1%), reported experiencing mental symptoms, with worry and stress being the most common, affecting 674 (25.9%) and 617 (23.7%) of the students respectively.…”

Obsessive Compulsive Inventory – Child Version (OCI-CV): Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability, validity and correlates among Nigerian adolescents

“…In this study, the prevalence of OCS among Nigerian adolescents was 37.8%. In Egypt, various studies have reported prevalence rates of 13.3%, 18.4% and 43.1% with measures other than the OCI-CV12–14. About a decade ago, a study in Nigeria reported that approximately 40% of Nigerian students may exhibit OCS48.…”

“…It ranges from 2.7% to 19.4% in the developed western countries6–11. The few studies in African countries reported prevalence rates ranging from 13.3% to 43.1%12–14. However, in spite of these various studies, OCS in children and adolescents are still underestimated and understudied2.…”