Polygenic Heterogeneity Across Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Subgroups Defined by a Comorbid Diagnosis.

Among patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 65-85% manifest another psychiatric disorder concomitantly or at some other time point during their life. OCD is highly heritable, as are many of its comorbidities. A possible genetic heterogeneity of OCD in relation to its comorbid conditions, however, has not yet been exhaustively explored. We used a framework of different approaches to study the genetic relationship of OCD with three commonly observed comorbidities, namely major depressive disorder (MDD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). First, using publicly available summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies, we compared genetic correlation patterns for OCD, MDD, ADHD, and ASD with 861 somatic and mental health phenotypes. Secondly, we examined how polygenic risk scores (PRS) of eight traits that showed heterogeneous correlation patterns with OCD, MDD, ADHD, and ASD partitioned across comorbid subgroups in OCD using independent unpublished data from the Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH). The comorbid subgroups comprised of patients with only OCD (N = 366), OCD and MDD (N = 1,052), OCD and ADHD (N = 443), OCD and ASD (N = 388), and OCD with more than 1 comorbidity (N = 429). We found that PRS of all traits but BMI were significantly associated with OCD across all subgroups (neuroticism: p = 1.19 × 10-32, bipolar disorder: p = 7.51 × 10-8, anorexia nervosa: p = 3.52 × 10-20, age at first birth: p = 9.38 × 10-5, educational attainment: p = 1.56 × 10-4, OCD: p = 1.87 × 10-6, insomnia: p = 2.61 × 10-5, BMI: p = 0.15). For age at first birth, educational attainment, and insomnia PRS estimates significantly differed across comorbid subgroups (p = 2.29 × 10-4, p = 1.63 × 10-4, and p = 0.045, respectively). Especially for anorexia nervosa, age at first birth, educational attainment, insomnia, and neuroticism the correlation patterns that emerged from genetic correlation analysis of OCD, MDD, ADHD, and ASD were mirrored in the PRS associations with the respective comorbid OCD groups. Dissecting the polygenic architecture, we found both quantitative and qualitative polygenic heterogeneity across OCD comorbid subgroups.

One-Year Outcome for Responders of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: This study describes 1-year treatment outcomes from a large sample of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) responders, investigates age as a possible moderator of these treatment outcomes, and evaluates clinical relapse at the 1-year follow-up. METHOD: This study is the planned follow-up to the Nordic Long-term OCD [obsessive-compulsive disorder] Treatment Study (NordLOTS), which included 177 children and adolescents who were rated as treatment responders following CBT for OCD. Participants were assessed with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Treatment response and remission were defined as CY-BOCS total scores ≤15 and ≤10, respectively. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze all outcomes. RESULTS: At 1 year, a total of 155 children and adolescents (87.6%) were available for follow-up assessment, with 142 of these (91.6%) rated below a total score of ≤15 on the CY-BOCS. At 1-year follow-up, 121 (78.1%) were in remission. On average, CY-BOCS total scores dropped by 1.72 points during the first year after terminating treatment (p = .001). A total of 28 participants (15.8%) relapsed (CY-BOCS ≥ 16) at either the 6- or 12-month assessment; only 2 patients required additional CBT. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that manualized CBT in a community setting for pediatric OCD has durable effects for those who respond to an initial course of treatment; children and adolescents who respond to such treatment can be expected to maintain their treatment gains for at least 1 year following acute care. Clinical trial registration information- Nordic Long-term Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com; ISRCTN66385119.

A 7 year follow-up of children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. An analysis of predictive factors in a clinical prospective study

Background and Objectives: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a frequent psychiatric disorder. Despite its significant influence on personal development, little is known about its long-term course in children and adolescents. The aim was to follow children and adolescents with OCD for 7 years and to compare patients gaining remission with patients experiencing symptoms. Methods: The study was a prospective follow-up study in which the patients were interviewed 7 years after their initial contact with the healthcare system. The patients had been described at baseline. Results: Among the 95 participants, 53 participants described symptoms at follow-up and 44 participants described remission. More patients with persistent symptoms described an anxious personality trait. The schizoid/compulsive personality traits were represented at a higher rate in the group with persistent symptoms than in the group with remission symptoms. Important predictive factors included predisposition to OCD, the occurrence of comorbid disorders and older referral age. The occurrence of magic obsessions and repetitive compulsions increased the risk of OC symptoms at follow-up. The group "ate responders" differed from the non-responder group by predisposition to depression. Conclusions: The present clinical study is one of the longest follow-up studies conducted in children and adolescents with OCD. In addition to confirming several previous findings, the study added new knowledge about the importance of phenotypic presentation, personality traits and quality of life. Furthermore, the late responder group has been described in relation to the remission group and to the group with persistent symptoms (AU)