Quality of Life in OCD Patients

• Main Author: Tan, Jazz Zi Jin
• Other Authors: Chen Shen-Hsing Annabel
• Format: Student Research Poster
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Quality of life (QOL); Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/83933; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/42848
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychological disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts/impulses and repetitive actions, affecting 2% of the general population[1]. Due to its chronic and debilitating nature, OCD has adverse negative effects on the individual, often resulting in a significantly lower quality of life (QOL)121. QOL is an individual’s perception of his position in life based on culture and value systems relevant to their expectation and standards l3] It can be further categorized into different domains: physical health (PHY QOL), psychological health (PSyCH Q0L), social relationships (SOCIAL QOL) and environment (ENV QOL). Many studies in the current literature utilized the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and European Quality of Life-S Dimensions(EQ-SD) in their evaluations of QOL. However, SF-36 was designed to measure health status1 and EQ-5D focuses heavily on the physical aspects of Q0L151. Thus, they may not be an accurate representation of QOL. Furthermore, research of QOL in OCD have yielded inconsistent findings (6,71 This could be attributed to the inclusion of OCD patients with psychiatric co-morbidity that complicate interactions between OCD and QOL’. Therefore, the current study aims to utilize a more accurate measure of QOL by using the WHOQ BREF a QOL instrument with good internal consistency and no ceiling/roof effects when previously used on a Singapore population191. Exclusion criteria employed in the present study (Methodology) ensured effects are not attributable to other psychiatric/physical conditions. In addition, as OCD severity and depressive symptoms have been separately shown to be predictive of QOL the current study expects these clinical indices to be significantly correlated with all the QOL domains. [Peer Assessment Review]