Relation of quality of life with clinical and demographic features in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: The effect of insight and suicidality

Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may affect the quality of life (QOL), family relations, professional performance, and relationships of the individual in many other areas. The evidence has emphasized the relevance of examining QOL as a critical outcome in mental health studies. This study aimed to examine possible effects of clinical and demographic features including insight and suicidality on the QOL in patients with OCD. Method: The sample of this study consists of 80 patients diagnosed with OCD according to DSM-IV and 80 healthy volunteers. A sociodemographic and clinical data form and the World Health Organization Quality of Life brief form-Turkish version (WHOQOOL-BREF-TR) were administered to the participants. In addition, the patient group was assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). Insight was evaluated by using the insight item of Y-BOCS and the Overvalued Ideas Scale (OVIS). Results: The average scores for the physical health, psychological health, and social relationship domains of WHOQOOL-BREF-TR were lower in the patient group; however, there was no significant difference in the environmental health domain between the two groups. Negative correlations were found between the severity of the disease, age at illness onset and QOL subdomains. Besides, a history of suicide attempt had a statistically significant effect on all subscales of quality of life. Insight had no significant effect on any QOL subscale. Conclusion: This study shows that the quality of life is affected in OCD and this is partly related to the severity of the disease and suicidality but not to insight. Considering the effects of quality of life in both the treatment and follow-up of this patient group, the importance of identifying the factors affecting the quality of life will be better understood in OCD patients. Further large-scale longitudinal studies are needed to clarify this issue.