Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Preliminary Findings From a Study in the United Arab Emirates.

Objective

To investigate the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among the general population of the United Arab Emirates.

Methods

An online survey of a convenience sample was conducted between October 2020 and January 2021. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to assess symptoms of OCD. The rate of OCD symptoms in those who had positive COVID-19 test results was compared with those who had no previous COVID-19 diagnosis.

Results

The total number of participants was 702, including 371 males and 325 females (6 skipped the question regarding sex). Most participants reported no previous psychiatric history (84.3%). Previous psychiatric diagnoses were reported by 15.7% of participants (n = 110) and included generalized anxiety (27.3%), phobia (1.8%), depression (19.1%), bipolar mood disorder (1.8%), OCD (6.3%), and panic attacks (8.2%). There were 39 (5.6%) participants who had past psychiatric history but were unsure of the exact diagnosis. Presence of history of OCD for the total sample was reported by 7 (1%) participants. A family history of OCD was reported by 34 (4.8%) participants. A total of 218 (31.1%) participants scored mild, moderate, severe, or extreme OCD symptoms. Clinically significant OCD symptoms were reported by 75 participants (10.7% of the total sample). The mean (SD) score of the Y-BOCS was 6.63 (7.13) for the COVID-positive group and 4.9 (6.34) for the COVID-negative group, which was statistically significant (P = .0008).

Conclusions

The study findings indicate an increased prevalence of OCD during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is significantly higher among people with positive COVID-19 infection compared to those with negative COVID-19 test results.