Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:947-950
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder in pregnancy
F Neziroglu, R Anemone and JA Yaryura-Tobias
Bio-Behavioral Psychiatry, Great Neck, NY 11021.
OBJECTIVE: Although the role of pregnancy and childbirth in postpartum
psychosis and depression has been studied, the association between
pregnancy and obsessive-compulsive disorder has not been specifically
addressed. The authors evaluated the role of pregnancy in the onset of
obsessive-compulsive disorder. METHOD: Female patients with obsessive-
compulsive disorder (N = 106) completed a questionnaire assessing age at
onset of symptoms, marital status, number of children, age at each
pregnancy, and life events associated with the onset of obsessive-
compulsive disorder. RESULTS: Of the 106 women, 42 were childless and 59
had at least one child each; five others were also childless but had had
abortions (N = 4) or a miscarriage (N = 1). Of the 42 women without
children, 12 (28.6%) had first experienced obsessive-compulsive symptoms
between the ages of 13 and 15 years, but there were two peaks of onset for
the women with children: ages 22-24 and 29-32 years. Of the 59 patients
with children, 23 (39.0%) had experienced symptom onset during pregnancy;
this was the first pregnancy for 12, the second pregnancy for eight, and
the third pregnancy for three. Four of the five women who had had abortions
or a miscarriage had experienced the onset or an exacerbation of
obsessive-compulsive symptoms during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: The
association between pregnancy and the onset of obsessive-compulsive
symptoms in these female patients highlights the need for further research
on psychological and biological factors associated with pregnancy and
obsessive-compulsive disorder.
