Sex differences in Indian patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Sex has been postulated as one of the factors mediating heterogeneity in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study investigated the sex differences in OCD with respect to sociodemographics, symptom profile, and comorbidity including spectrum disorders. Two hundred thirty-one subjects diagnosed with OCD by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria were included in the study. The subjects were evaluated by extensive clinical and semistructured interviews by expert clinical psychiatrists, and diagnosis was made by consensus. Male (n = 166) and female (n = 65) subjects with OCD were compared with respect to the data obtained. Males with OCD tended to have an earlier onset and had more symmetry/religious obsessions and miscellaneous compulsions. Males also showed a tendency to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Female subjects were more likely to be married, have cleaning compulsions and be associated with trichotillomania. The findings support the hypothesis that there are sex differences in OCD, but the results are only partly comparable with other studies, suggesting that the phenotypic expression of OCD is possibly dependent on a complex interaction among biologic, personal, and cultural factors.