Changes in Symptom Severity among Children and Adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A 2-year Follow-up

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused significant global turmoil, including changes in social and societal conduct such as lockdowns, social isolation, and extensive regulations. These changes can be major sources of stress. The first wave of the pandemic (April -May 2020) was a time of global uncertainty. We evaluated symptom severity among 29 Israeli children and adolescents with obsessive -compulsive disorder (OCD). Our previous study found that most of these participants did not experience an exacerbation of symptoms. Objectives: To re-evaluate the OCD symptoms of 18 participants from the original group of 29 children and adolescents during three time points: before the pandemic, during the first wave, and 2 years later. Methods: Obsessive -compulsive symptoms (OCS) were assessed using the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI), a functional questionnaire, and the Obsessive -Compulsive Inventory -child version (OCI-CV). Results: OCS in patients did not change significantly during the three time points. Participants reported minimal changes in their general functioning 2 years after the outbreak of COVID-19 and showed minimal change in OCI-CV scale scores. Conclusions: Our results indicated clinical stability of OCD symptoms among most of the participants.