A cost-of-illness analysis of the economic burden of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVES: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and debilitating psychiatric condition, with diagnosed patients typically experiencing moderate or severe symptoms. This study evaluated the cost-of-illness (CoI) of OCD in the UK, capturing the annual costs accrued to the National Health Service (NHS) and Personal Social Services (PSS), people with OCD, caregivers and society. METHODS: The UK OCD population was estimated and stratified by age group (children, adults, elderly), symptom severity (mild, moderate, severe) and treatment received (including no treatment). Costs for each subpopulation were estimated through a prevalence-based approach. Cost inputs were sourced from national databases, while additional inputs were informed by literature searches or expert clinician opinion. Scenario analyses explored other factors including comorbid depression treatment and presenteeism. RESULTS: The base-case analysis estimated a total annual CoI of £378,356,004 to the NHS, rising to £5,095,759,464 when a societal perspective was considered. The annual cost of care per person with OCD increased with severity (mild: £174; moderate: £365; severe: £902) due to increasing healthcare resource utilisation. The largest contributor to healthcare costs was cognitive behavioural therapy, while societal costs were driven by lost productivity through absenteeism. The base-case results likely underestimated the true economic burden of OCD; including comorbid depression led to a 132% increase in treatment costs, while presenteeism in people with OCD and lost productivity in caregivers amplified indirect costs. CONCLUSIONS: The economic burden of OCD in the UK is substantial and extends beyond direct treatment costs, highlighting a need for research into alternative treatments with greater efficacy.

Predictive value of baseline cognitive functioning on health-related quality of life in individuals with coronary artery disease: a 5-year longitudinal study.

AIMS: Emerging studies suggest an association exists between coronary artery disease (CAD) and the development of neurodegenerative diseases, with CAD acting as a precursor. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between baseline measures of cognitive functioning and long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in individuals with CAD with specification to Type D personality traits and sex. METHODS AND RESULTS: This prospective observational cohort study consisted of 864 participants (mean age 58 SD = 9 years, 74.0% men) with CAD after acute coronary syndrome. Baseline characteristics included comprehensive cognitive testing, measures of sociodemographic and clinical factors, and psychological assessment scales, such as Type D personality scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire assessed participants' HRQoL, conducted through phone interviews at baseline, every 6 months for up to 2 years, and after 5 years. Cognitive functioning correlated with HRQoL at all time intervals over the 5-year follow-up. Regarding sex and Type D personality, significant differences emerged in associations between impaired cognitive functioning at baseline and HRQoL measured over the period of 5 years. Men participants with characteristics of Type D personality were especially vulnerable to impaired cognitive functioning affecting the 5-year quality of life. CONCLUSION: Men with CAD who obtained scores indicating characteristics of Type D personality were significantly more likely to have lower baseline cognitive functions and long-term HRQoL outcomes. This information could inform healthcare practitioners to screen for personality characteristics and closely follow-up those at a greater risk.

Facing the "new normal": How adjusting to the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions exposes mental health inequalities.

BACKGROUND: Re-establishing societal norms in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic will be important for restoring public mental health and psychosocial wellbeing as well as economic recovery. We investigated the impact on post-pandemic adjustment of a history of mental disorder, with particular reference to obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms or traits. METHODS: The study was pre-registered (Open Science Framework; https://osf.io/gs8j2/). Adult members of the public (n = 514) were surveyed between July and November 2020, to identify the extent to which they reported difficulties re-adjusting as lockdown conditions eased. All were assessed using validated scales to determine which demographic and mental health-related factors impacted adjustment. An exploratory analysis of a subgroup on an objective online test of cognitive inflexibility was also performed. RESULTS: Adjustment was related to a history of mental disorder and the presence of OC symptoms and traits, all acting indirectly and statistically-mediated via depression, anxiety and stress; and in the case of OC symptoms, also via COVID-related anxiety (all p < 0.001). One hundred and twenty-eight (25%) participants reported significant adjustment difficulties and were compared with those self-identifying as "good adjusters" (n = 231). This comparison revealed over-representation of those with a history or family history of mental disorder in the poor adjustment category (all p < 0.05). 'Poor-adjusters' additionally reported higher COVID-related anxiety, depression, anxiety and stress and OC symptoms and traits (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, history of mental disorder directly statistically mediated adjustment status (p < 0.01), whereas OC symptoms (not OC traits) acted indirectly via COVID-related anxiety (p < 0.001). Poor-adjusters also showed evidence of greater cognitive inflexibility on the intra-extra-dimensional set-shift task. CONCLUSION: Individuals with a history of mental disorder, OC symptoms and OC traits experienced greater difficulties adjusting after lockdown-release, largely statistically mediated by increased depression, anxiety, including COVID-related anxiety, and stress. The implications for clinical and public health policies and interventions are discussed.

Screening and assessment tools for gaming disorder: A comprehensive systematic review.

The inclusion of gaming disorder (GD) as an official diagnosis in the ICD-11 was a significant milestone for the field. However, the optimal measurement approaches for GD are currently unclear. This comprehensive systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate all available English-language GD tools and their corresponding evidence. A search of PsychINFO, PsychArticles, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar identified 32 tools employed in 320 studies (N = 462,249 participants). The evaluation framework examined tools in relation to: (1) conceptual and practical considerations; (2) alignment with DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria; (3) type and quantity of studies and samples; and (4) psychometric properties. The evaluation showed that GD instrumentation has proliferated, with 2.5 tools, on average, published annually since 2013. Coverage of DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria was inconsistent, especially for the criterion of continued use despite harm. Tools converge on the importance of screening for impaired control over gaming and functional impairment. Overall, no single tool was found to be clearly superior, but the AICA-Sgaming, GAS-7, IGDT-10, IGDS9-SF, and Lemmens IGD-9 scales had greater evidential support for their psychometric properties. The GD field would benefit from a standard international tool to identify gaming-related harms across the spectrum of maladaptive gaming behaviors.

Early intervention for obsessive compulsive disorder: An expert consensus statement.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is common, emerges early in life and tends to run a chronic, impairing course. Despite the availability of effective treatments, the duration of untreated illness (DUI) is high (up to around 10 years in adults) and is associated with considerable suffering for the individual and their families. This consensus statement represents the views of an international group of expert clinicians, including child and adult psychiatrists, psychologists and neuroscientists, working both in high and low and middle income countries, as well as those with the experience of living with OCD. The statement draws together evidence from epidemiological, clinical, health economic and brain imaging studies documenting the negative impact associated with treatment delay on clinical outcomes, and supporting the importance of early clinical intervention. It draws parallels between OCD and other disorders for which early intervention is recognized as beneficial, such as psychotic disorders and impulsive-compulsive disorders associated with problematic usage of the Internet, for which early intervention may prevent the development of later addictive disorders. It also generates new heuristics for exploring the brain-based mechanisms moderating the 'toxic' effect of an extended DUI in OCD. The statement concludes that there is a global unmet need for early intervention services for OC related disorders to reduce the unnecessary suffering and costly disability associated with under-treatment. New clinical staging models for OCD that may be used to facilitate primary, secondary and tertiary prevention within this context are proposed.

Optimal treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder: a randomized controlled feasibility study of the clinical-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and their combination in the management of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Established treatments for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) include cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication. Combined treatment may outperform monotherapy, but few studies have investigated this. A total of 49 community-based adults with OCD were randomly assigned to CBT, SSRI, or SSRI+CBT. Sertraline (50-200 mg/day) was given as the SSRI for 52 weeks. A 16-h-manualized individual CBT was delivered over 8 weeks with four follow-up sessions. Assessors were 'blinded' to treatment allocation. A preliminary health economic evaluation was conducted. At week 16, combined treatment (n=13) was associated with the largest improvement, sertraline (n=7) the next largest and CBT (n=9) the smallest on the observed case analysis. The effect size (Cohen's d) comparing the improvement in Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale on CBT versus combined treatment was -0.39 and versus sertraline was -0.27. Between 16 and 52 weeks, the greatest clinical improvement was seen with sertraline, but participant discontinuation prevented reliable analysis. Compared with sertraline, the mean costs were higher for CBT and for combined treatment. The mean Quality Adjusted Life Year scores for sertraline were 0.1823 (95% confidence interval: 0.0447-0.3199) greater than for CBT and 0.1135 (95% confidence interval: -0.0290-0.2560), greater than for combined treatment. Combined treatment appeared the most clinically effective option, especially over CBT, but the advantages over SSRI monotherapy were not sustained beyond 16 weeks. SSRI monotherapy was the most cost-effective. A definitive study can and should be conducted.

A systematic review of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of pharmacological and psychological interventions for the management of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children/adolescents and adults.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a relatively common and disabling condition. OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical effectiveness, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of pharmacological and psychological interventions for the treatment of OCD in children, adolescents and adults. DATA SOURCES: We searched the Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Trials Registers, which includes trials from routine searches of all the major databases. Searches were conducted from inception to 31 December 2014. REVIEW METHODS: We undertook a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) of the clinical effectiveness and acceptability of available treatments. Outcomes for effectiveness included mean differences in the total scores of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale or its children's version and total dropouts for acceptability. For the cost-effectiveness analysis, we developed a probabilistic model informed by the results of the NMA. All analyses were performed using OpenBUGS version 3.2.3 (members of OpenBUGS Project Management Group; see www.openbugs.net ). RESULTS: We included 86 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in our systematic review. In the NMA we included 71 RCTs (54 in adults and 17 in children and adolescents) for effectiveness and 71 for acceptability (53 in adults and 18 in children and adolescents), comprising 7643 and 7942 randomised patients available for analysis, respectively. In general, the studies were of medium quality. The results of the NMA showed that in adults all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and clomipramine had greater effects than drug placebo. There were no differences between SSRIs, and a trend for clomipramine to be more effective did not reach statistical significance. All active psychological therapies had greater effects than drug placebo. Behavioural therapy (BT) and cognitive therapy (CT) had greater effects than psychological placebo, but cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) did not. BT and CT, but not CBT, had greater effects than medications, but there are considerable uncertainty and methodological limitations that should be taken into account. In children and adolescents, CBT and BT had greater effects than drug placebo, but differences compared with psychological placebo did not reach statistical significance. SSRIs as a class showed a trend for superiority over drug placebo, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. However, the superiority of some individual drugs (fluoxetine, sertraline) was marginally statistically significant. Regarding acceptability, all interventions except clomipramine had good tolerability. In adults, CT and BT had the highest probability of being most cost-effective at conventional National Institute for Health and Care Excellence thresholds. In children and adolescents, CBT or CBT combined with a SSRI were more likely to be cost-effective. The results are uncertain and sensitive to assumptions about treatment effect and the exclusion of trials at high risk of bias. LIMITATIONS: The majority of psychological trials included patients who were taking medications. There were few studies in children and adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: In adults, psychological interventions, clomipramine, SSRIs or combinations of these are all effective, whereas in children and adolescents, psychological interventions, either as monotherapy or combined with specific SSRIs, were more likely to be effective. Future RCTs should improve their design, in particular for psychotherapy or combined interventions. STUDY REGISTRATION: The study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42012002441. FUNDING DETAILS: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

The cost and impact of compulsivity: A research perspective.

Compulsivity is the defining feature of various psychiatric disorders including Obsessive Compulsive Related Disorders (OCRDs), and other compulsive, impulsive, and addictive disorders. These disorders are disabling, chronic conditions with an early onset and high rates of comorbidity, misdiagnoses, and delay in treatment onset. Disorders of compulsivity are responsible for considerable socioeconomic burden to society. We review the costs and impacts of compulsivity. In order to facilitate earlier diagnosis and targeted treatments, we examine the overlapping mechanisms that underlie compulsivity. We reconceptualize psychiatric disorders based on core features of compulsivity, highlight challenges in harmonizing research in children and adults, describe newer research methodologies, and point to future directions that can impact the costs and impact of disorders of compulsivity.

Counterfactual processing of economic action-outcome alternatives in obsessive-compulsive disorder: further evidence of impaired goal-directed behavior.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder of automatic, uncontrollable behaviors and obsessive rumination. There is evidence that OCD patients have difficulties performing goal-directed actions, instead exhibiting repetitive stimulus-response habit behaviors. This might result from the excessive formation of stimulus-response habit associations or from an impairment in the ability to use outcome value to guide behavior. We investigated the latter by examining counterfactual decision making, which is the ability to use comparisons of prospective action-outcome scenarios to guide economic choice. METHODS: We tested decision making (forward counterfactual) and affective responses (backward counterfactual) in 20 OCD patients and 20 matched healthy control subjects using an economic choice paradigm that previously revealed attenuation of both the experience and avoidance of counterfactual emotion in schizophrenia patients and patients with orbitofrontal cortex lesions. RESULTS: The use of counterfactual comparison to guide decision making was diminished in OCD patients, who relied primarily on expected value. Unlike the apathetic affective responses previously shown to accompany this decision style, OCD patients reported increased emotional responsivity to the outcomes of their choices and to the counterfactual comparisons that typify regret and relief. CONCLUSIONS: Obsessive-compulsive disorder patients exhibit a pattern of decision making consistent with a disruption in goal-directed forward modeling, basing decisions instead on the temporally present (and more rational) calculation of expected value. In contrast to this style of decision making, emotional responses in OCD were more extreme and reactive than control subjects. These results are in line with an account of disrupted goal-directed cognitive control in OCD.

The size, burden and cost of disorders of the brain in the UK.

AIM: The aim of this paper is to increase awareness of the prevalence and cost of psychiatric and neurological disorders (brain disorders) in the UK. METHOD: UK data for 18 brain disorders were extracted from a systematic review of European epidemiological data and prevalence rates and the costs of each disorder were summarized (2010 values). RESULTS: There were approximately 45 million cases of brain disorders in the UK, with a cost of €134 billion per annum. The most prevalent were headache, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, mood disorders and somatoform disorders. However, the five most costly disorders (€ million) were: dementia: €22,164; psychotic disorders: €16,717; mood disorders: €19,238; addiction: €11,719; anxiety disorders: €11,687. Apart from psychosis, these five disorders ranked amongst those with the lowest direct medical expenditure per subject (<€3000). The approximate breakdown of costs was: 50% indirect costs, 25% direct non-medical and 25% direct healthcare costs. DISCUSSION: The prevalence and cost of UK brain disorders is likely to increase given the ageing population. Translational neurosciences research has the potential to develop more effective treatments but is underfunded. Addressing the clinical and economic challenges posed by brain disorders requires a coordinated effort at an EU and national level to transform the current scientific, healthcare and educational agenda.

Cognitive Assessment Instrument of Obsessions and Compulsions (CAIOC-13) - a new 13-item scale for evaluating functional impairment associated with OCD.

The Cognitive Assessment Instrument of Obsessions and Compulsions (CAIOC) was designed as a novel instrument for clinicians to assess the main cognitive and executive impairments that are hypothesized to underpin the impact of obsessive-compulsive symptoms on functioning in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Initially, 18 items were selected based upon observation in the laboratory and clinical research setting, then refined to a definitive 13-item scale after excluding items due to statistical criteria. In a study involving two raters, 50 patients diagnosed with OCD were assessed using the self-rated and clinician-rated versions of the new scale. OCD patients' scores fell in the region of moderate severity on both clinician and self-rated versions of the CAIOC-13. Inter-rater reliability and Cronbach's alpha scores were satisfactory. Factor analysis indicated a one factor solution confirming its unidimensionality. Significantly higher scores in the OCD group compared to a depression group (n=31) and a healthy control group (n=55) were revealed. Scores on the clinician and self-rated versions of the 13-item CAIOC appear valid and reliable measures of the severity of functional impairment associated with OCD. Further validation, including research into the relationship of the CAIOC-13 with laboratory measures of cognitive impairment and evaluation of its sensitivity is indicated.

Quality of life outcomes in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: relationship to treatment response and symptom relapse.

OBJECTIVE: Data were analyzed from 2 prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of escitalopram in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to characterize the baseline levels of functional disability and impairment in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and to assess the relationship between treatment outcomes (response or relapse) and disability or HRQoL. METHOD: Data from a 24-week, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose trial (N = 466) of escitalopram (10-20 mg/d) or paroxetine (40 mg/d) and from a 40-week, flexible-dose (escitalopram 10-20 mg/d), placebo-controlled relapse-prevention trial (N = 468) were analyzed. Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms (DSM-IV criteria) were assessed using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), functioning was assessed using the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and HRQoL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36). Baseline data were pooled for patients across both studies. For patients in the fixed-dose study, SDS and SF-36 scores were compared across treatment groups and for responders versus nonresponders. In the relapse-prevention trial, SDS and SF-36 scores were compared for relapsed versus nonrelapsed patients. RESULTS: Patients with more severe baseline symptoms (YBOCS > or = 27) reported significantly greater impairment on the SDS (P < .001) and SF-36 (except for bodily pain). Patients receiving escitalopram or paroxetine reported significant improvements on most SF-36 dimensions and on the SDS compared to placebo; however, improvements in work-related functioning were seen earlier for patients receiving escitalopram (20 mg/d). At the study endpoints, SDS and SF-36 scores were significantly better for patients who were responders (versus nonresponders) and for patients who did not relapse (versus relapsers). CONCLUSIONS: Obsessive-compulsive disorder is associated with significant impairment in functioning and HRQoL. Significant differences in disability and HRQoL between responders and nonresponders or relapsers and nonrelapsers suggest a relationship between symptomatic and functional outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: lundbecktrials.com Identifiers: 10205 and 10193.

Manifesto for a European anxiety disorders research network.

Despite the size, burden and costs of anxiety disorders, many patients remain unrecognised, and the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions in routine clinical practice can be disappointing. The European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) has established the ECNP Network Initiative (ECNP-NI) to help meet the goal of extending current understanding of the causes of central nervous system disorders, thereby contributing to improvements in clinical outcomes and reducing the associated societal burden. The Anxiety Disorders Research Network (ADRN) has been adopted within the ECNP-NI: this consensus statement summarises its overall aims and objectives.

Costs and risks in the management of patients with gastric acid hypersecretion.

GOALS: To define both risks and costs of optimal care of patients with gastric acid hypersecretion. BACKGROUND: The management of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and other gastric acid hypersecretory disorders remains challenging. The optimal strategy for follow-up including gastric acid analysis, laboratory studies, and endoscopy is unknown but important given the potential complications from uncontrolled acid secretion. STUDY: Over the last 18 years, patients with gastric acid hypersecretory disorders have been followed prospectively with gastric acid analysis and endoscopy titrating oral lansoprazole and evaluating for complications. Protocol driven charges were calculated using the most recent information available. RESULTS: After 1 year of treatment optimization, 19 of 67 patients had 43 relapses, (once only in 10 patients). Risk markers for relapse included: (1) antrectomy, 67% relapsed versus 21% in unoperated patients; (2) basal acid output >5 mmol/h (risk=5.17); and (3) poor compliance. On treatment, 79% of 58 intact patients (excluding antrectomy) were lesion-free; 11% had only 1 relapse. Thus 90% were well managed with optimized lansoprazole alone. Protocol driven charges exceeded $25,000 the first year and $7000 annually thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: Relapse is infrequent and generally mild with acid secreting status closely monitored. The ideal strategy to balance costs and testing awaits further study.

Assessment of vascular calcification in ESRD patients using spiral CT.

BACKGROUND: Dialysis patients have increased vascular calcification of the coronary arteries and aorta by electron beam CT scan. The purpose of the present study was to utilize an alternative machine, spiral CT, to assess calcification in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. METHODS: Two groups of patients with ESRD were evaluated: group 1, those receiving a renal transplant (n=38); and group 2, those remaining on dialysis (n=33). All patients underwent quad-slice spiral CT with retrospective gating to evaluate coronary artery and aorta calcification scores. Both area (Agatston method) and volume calculations were utilized, with retrospective gating in all but 16 subjects. Laboratory tests, medications and clinical characteristics were analysed. RESULTS: Using spiral CT, the intra-reader variability for coronary artery calcification (after correction for very low scores) was 0.9% mean / 0% median using the area (Agatston method) and 2.9% mean / 0% median using volume calculations. Group 1 patients were younger, more likely to be Caucasian and on peritoneal dialysis, had lower serum calcium and higher C-reactive protein levels than group 2. In patients without vs those with coronary artery calcification, only longer duration of dialysis (34+/-64 vs 55+/-50 months, P=0.004; r=0.39, P=0.005) and increasing age (39+/-13 vs 54+/-10 years, P<0.001; r=0.29, P=0.039) were associated, whereas only increasing age was associated with aorta calcification. CONCLUSION: In ESRD patients, the factors correlating with coronary calcification were duration of dialysis and advancing age, whereas only age correlated with aorta calcification. Spiral CT offers an alternative technique for the assessment of these changes.