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Elevated risk for obsessive-compulsive symptoms in women pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a public mental health crisis with many people experiencing new or worsening anxiety. Fear of contagion and the lack of predictability/control in daily life increased the risk for problems such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in the general population. Pregnant women may be particularly vulnerable to such pandemic-related stressors yet the prevalence of OC symptoms in this population during the pandemic remains unknown. We examined the prevalence of OC symptoms in a sample of 4451 pregnant women in the USA, recruited via targeted online methods at the start of the pandemic. Participants completed self-report measures including the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised and the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale. Clinically significant OC symptoms were present in 7.12% of participants, more than twice as high as rates of peripartum OCD reported prior to the pandemic. Younger maternal age, income loss, and suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection were all associated with higher OC symptoms. Two types of pregnancy-specific stress, pandemic-related and pandemic-unrelated, were both associated with higher levels of OC symptoms. Pandemic-related pregnancy stress predicted OC symptoms even after controlling for non-pandemic-related, pregnancy-specific stress. Elevated rates of OC symptoms were observed in women pregnant during the pandemic, particularly those experiencing elevated pandemic-related pregnancy stress. This type of stress confers a distinct risk for OC symptoms above and beyond pregnancy-specific stress and demographic factors. Healthcare providers should be prepared to see and treat more peripartum women with OC symptoms during this and future public health crises.

SUBMITTER: Mahaffey BL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8282770 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions may contribute to a deterioration in mental health; individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be particularly affected. This systematic review aimed to investigate the effects of the current pandemic on people diagnosed with OCD, and whether pandemics may affect the development of OCD symptoms.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search using NCBI PubMed, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar on February 9, 2021. Research articles related to OCD and COVID-19 or other pandemics were attempted to be identified using pre-defined search terms. Case reports, clinical guidelines, letters, and clinical research articles including ≥100 participants were included; reviews were excluded. The systematic review adheres to PRISMA guidelines and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of the included clinical research articles.ResultsA total of 79 articles were included in the full-text assessment. Of these, 59 were clinical research articles, two were clinical guidelines, six were case reports, and 12 were letters. The research articles examined OCD symptoms in adult patients with diagnosed OCD, the general population, pregnant women, healthcare workers, students, and young adults, children, and adolescents. Only one study on OCD in previous pandemics was identified.ConclusionThis systematic review found that people both with and without diagnosed OCD prior to the pandemic generally experienced a worsened landscape of symptoms of OCD during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the responses are heterogeneous and many factors other than the pandemic seemed to affect the development of OCD symptoms. To prevent the impairment of symptoms and the development of new cases, close monitoring of patients with OCD and education of the general public is essential. Literature is still limited; thus, multinational and cross-cultural, longitudinal studies are warranted to gain further insights on this topic.

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Elevated risk for obsessive-compulsive symptoms in women pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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