Frequency of Obsessive-compulsive Disorder in Methamphetamine-Dependent Subjects

Background and Objectives: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder, which can be manifested as comorbidity with other psychological disorders. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of this comorbidity plays an important role in treatment of the main disorder. This study aimed to assess the frequency of OCD in methamphetamine-dependent individuals. Patients and Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 methamphetamine-dependent individuals presenting to outpatient addiction treatment centers in Tehran. The participants only had methamphetamine dependence and were not addicted to any other substance. Initial examination was carried out by a psychiatrist to rule out other conditions. To assess OCD, Persian-version of Yale-Brown questionnaire was used. The cut-off point used for the questionnaire in this study was 9. In addition to the severity of obsession, type of obsession was determined as well. Results: The mean age of patients was 32.2±7.8 years and the mean duration of methamphetamine dependence was 8.9 years; 26.1% were married and 72.9% were single or divorced; 27.1% had academic education. The frequency of OCD was 33% and miscellaneous and aggressive types of obsession had the highest frequency. Conclusions: The observation that one third of methamphetamine dependent patients suffer from OCD suggest existence of a correlation. More detailed understanding of such correlation can enable efficient treatment and favorable prognosis of the disease. Our study, hence, encourage further investigation of the issue to draw a more definite conclusion.