Epidemiological Survey on the Status of Obsessive-compulsive Disorder among School-age Children in Iran

Background and purpose: The age of the onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and its&nbsp;manifestation is now identified at childhood. In the present study, we aimed to&nbsp;epidemiologically assess OCD and its main determinants in school-age children.&nbsp; Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 600 consecutive schoolage children (7-12 years old) in primary schools at Kermanshah, Iran in May 2012. OCD status was assessed using the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory. Results: In this study, the prevalence of OCD in children were 12.2% (73 person). Among&nbsp;OCDs, 32.0% were male and 68.0% were female with a significant difference (P < 0.001).&nbsp;Among different subscales of OCD, checking was more prevalent in girls than in boys (74.0%&nbsp;vs. 65.0%, P < 0.001), whereas doubting was more revealed in boys than in girls (56.0% vs.&nbsp;34.0%, P < 0.001). In this regard, no differences were found between boys and girls in the rate&nbsp;of washing subscale (43.0% vs. 40.0%, P = 0.456) and slowness domain (30.0% vs. 34.0%,&nbsp;P = 0.294). Totally, mean MOCI score was significantly a higher in girls than in boys in&nbsp;different grades of education. OCD was influenced by father&rsquo;s occupation status, parents&rsquo;&nbsp;education level, order of birth, dependence to mothers and previous history of OCD in fathers. Conclusion: The prevalence of OCD was a higher than other areas in the country and other&nbsp;populations. Because of the existence of OCD potential determinants including socioeconomic&nbsp;level and familial tendency, the high prevalence of the disease must be considered in correlation&nbsp;with these factors.