Effect of sertraline and fluvoxamine on quality of life in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: A 12-week interventional study.

BACKGROUND

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with poor quality of life (QoL) and functionality. Treatment leads to improvement in QoL and better functioning.

AIM: To assess the effect of treatment with SSRIs on QoL and disability in first-episode, drug-naïve patients with OCD.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Fifty first-episode, drug-naïve patients with a diagnosis of OCD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 were assessed for severity of illness (Y-BOCS), World Health Organization QoL (WHO-QoL Bref), and disability (WHODAS 2.0) at baseline and at 12 weeks after receiving treatment with either sertraline or fluvoxamine.

RESULTS

The scores for QoL were low and for disability were high at baseline, and the scores for WHO-QoL-Bref and WHODAS 2.0 improved significantly after 12 weeks of treatment compared to baseline. This improvement correlated with reduction in the illness severity scores on Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. The responders to treatment had better QoL and lower disability compared to nonresponders.

CONCLUSION

There is an impairment in QoL and disability in first-episode, drug-naïve patients with OCD, and QoL improves and disability decreases with adequate treatment with SSRIs, and this improvement correlates with improvement in the illness severity.