Prevalence and Associated Factors of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The rates of obsessive behaviors can be increased during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic due to the preventive precautions against this virus. 

Aim: The study aimed to identify the prevalence and associated factors of obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to assess the OCD among general population sample. A simple random sampling technique (n = 421) was used for data collection. The data collected using a questionnaire (Yale-Brown Scale) for OCD.

Results: The prevalence of obsessive-compulsive behavior symptoms among the participants was (47.0%) during COVID-19 Pandemic. People with other illnesses like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and others were 2.4 times more likely to have OCD when compared to others from healthy people. People who have COVID-19 were twice as likely to develop OCD as non-infected people. On the other hand, People who did not adhere to safety procedures were 0.31 times less likely to develop OCD than others who closely adhered to these procedures. Besides, the study showed that people previously diagnosed with OCD are at 4.95 times risk of worsening their condition during this pandemic.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on the behavior of members of the Palestinian population, the majority of the participants have symptoms of OCD, and the participants who had OCD have worsened their condition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key words: Prevalence, Obsessive, Compulsive, Behavior, OCD, COVID-19, Pandemic

Conference Title

The first medical research Conference, Palestine

Conference Country

Palestine

Conference Date

Nov. 29, 2022 - Nov. 30, 2022

Conference Sponsor

وزارة الصحة الفلسطينية