Clinical features of obsessive-compulsive disorder among individuals who experience health-related obsessive-compulsive symptoms

Abstract

Background: While some obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) phenotypes are well-established and better understood, it is unclear whether the presence of health-related obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) is associated with specific clinical characteristics. We aimed to investigate whether OCS involving concerns with illness, diseases, body parts or aspects of appearance (i.e. health-related OCS) are associated with differences in demographics, experience of stressful life events, clinical severity, clinical course, endorsement of established OCD dimensions, and psychiatric comorbidities. Methods: Individuals (N = 1001) with a clinical diagnosis of OCD (M = 34.85, SD = 12.99) completed a quest..