Obsessive-compulsive disorder among teachers and its complications with other psychiatric symptoms

The aim of this study was the investigation of OCD prevalence and its complications with other psychiatric symptoms disorders among teachers.

This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. In this study, 2000 subjects were selected through cluster sampling among teachers, among whom 1916 subjects completed the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale(YBOCS) and demographic questionnaire. In the second stage, 66 subjects who had scores above and 66 subjects who had scores below the cut-off point of 20 in the YBOCS completed the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory and symptom checklists SCL-90-R. Data were analyzed using frequency, percent, Kruskal-Wallis and multivariate regression.

The results showed that the prevalence of OCD among teachers was 8%.Teachers with higher and lower education (p = 0.001), with and without history of illness (p = 0.001) and weak and prosperous economic situation (p = 0.009), had a significant difference in the rate of OCD. Also, the highest complications OCD was in OCD patients with paranoid, depression and anxiety disorders. Depression, interpersonal sensitivity, somatization and phobia were the most prominent variables in the prediction of OCD.

Therefore, it can be said that the prevalence of OCD among teachers is higher than the reported prevalence in the other countries, and paranoid, depression and anxiety psychiatric symptoms were comorbid in OCD patients which highlights the need to pay attention to this.