A prospective investigation of impacts of comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on clinical features and long-term treatment response in adult patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Masahiro Miyauchi; Naomi Matsuura; Keiichiro Mukai; Takuya Hashimoto; Shun Ogino; Kyosuke Yamanishi; Hisashi Yamada; Kazuhisa Hayashida; Hisato Matsunaga

doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2023.152401

A prospective investigation of impacts of comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on clinical features and long-term treatment response in adult patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Compr Psychiatry. 2023 Aug:125:152401. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2023.152401. Epub 2023 Jul 13.

Authors

Masahiro Miyauchi¹, Naomi Matsuura², Keiichiro Mukai¹, Takuya Hashimoto¹, Shun Ogino¹, Kyosuke Yamanishi¹, Hisashi Yamada¹, Kazuhisa Hayashida¹, Hisato Matsunaga³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan.
² Graduate School of Education, Mie University, Mie, Japan.
³ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan. Electronic address: hisa1311@hyo-med.ac.jp.

PMID: 37454485
DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2023.152401

Abstract

Background: A close association between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents has been investigated in previous studies. However, few studies examined the relationship between lifetime comorbidity of ADHD and OCD in adults. Therefore, we sought to investigate the clinical and psychopathological features related to comorbid ADHD in Japanese adult patients with OCD.

Methods: We assessed lifetime comorbidity of ADHD in 93 adult Japanese patients with OCD. Additionally, we used the Japanese version of Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales to assess the characteristics and severity of ADHD in each participant. According to the results, we excluded OCD patients that did not have ADHD but who exhibited elevated levels of ADHD traits. We compared OCD patients with ADHD (ADHD+ group) and those without ADHD or its trait (ADHD- group) in terms of background profiles and clinical features, such as OCD symptomatology and psychometric test results. Additionally, the 6-month treatment outcome was compared prospectively between groups.

Results: Of the 93 OCD participants, the prevalence of lifetime comorbidity of ADHD was estimated as 16.1%. Compared with the ADHD- group, participants in the ADHD+ group had an earlier age of onset of OCD, higher frequencies of hoarding symptoms, higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower quality of life, more elevated levels of impulsivity, and higher rates of substance or behavioral addiction and major depression. Finally, the mean improvement rate on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale after 6 months of standardized OCD treatment in the ADHD+ group (16.1%) was significantly lower than that in the ADHD- group (44.6%).

Conclusion: The lifetime comorbidity of ADHD is likely to exert a significant effect on clinical features and treatment outcome in adult patients with OCD. It is important to consider that underlying ADHD pathology may function as a facilitator for increased severity of global clinical features and treatment refractory conditions in OCD patients. Further studies are required to examine treatment strategies for such patients.

Keywords: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Comorbidity; Hoarding; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Treatment-refractoriness.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / diagnosis
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / epidemiology
Child
Comorbidity
Depressive Disorder, Major* / epidemiology
Humans
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder* / diagnosis
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder* / epidemiology
Prospective Studies
Quality of Life