BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous disorder. Different clinical subtypes may be characterized by differing pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment outcomes. METHODS: A cluster analysis was performed on 45 items of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Checklist (YBOCS-CL) for 261 patients with OCD. Cluster solutions emerging at different linkage distance levels, and the associations of identified clusters with demographic, clinical and relevant genetic variables, were investigated. RESULTS: A 6-cluster solution emerged at a linkage distance level of 1.5, and a 3-cluster solution emerged at a linkage distance level of 2.1. The 3 clusters in the latter solution were labeled I) Contamination / washing, II) Hoarding / symmetry / ordering, and III) Obsessional / checking. Increased Cluster III scores were associated with earlier age of OCD onset and the Met/Met (L/L) genotype of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism. CONCLUSION: The data here are consistent with previous work delineating the different symptom subtypes of OCD, also with previous work suggesting that the Met/Met (L/L) genotype of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism may be associated with anxiety symptoms, as well as with previous work suggesting that dopaminergic genes may be particularly important in early-onset OCD.
BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous disorder. Different clinical subtypes may be characterized by differing pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment outcomes. METHODS: A cluster analysis was performed on 45 items of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Checklist (YBOCS-CL) for 261 patients with OCD. Cluster solutions emerging at different linkage distance levels, and the associations of identified clusters with demographic, clinical and relevant genetic variables, were investigated. RESULTS: A 6-cluster solution emerged at a linkage distance level of 1.5, and a 3-cluster solution emerged at a linkage distance level of 2.1. The 3 clusters in the latter solution were labeled I) Contamination / washing, II) Hoarding / symmetry / ordering, and III) Obsessional / checking. Increased Cluster III scores were associated with earlier age of OCD onset and the Met/Met (L/L) genotype of the COMTVal158Met polymorphism. CONCLUSION: The data here are consistent with previous work delineating the different symptom subtypes of OCD, also with previous work suggesting that the Met/Met (L/L) genotype of the COMTVal158Met polymorphism may be associated with anxiety symptoms, as well as with previous work suggesting that dopaminergic genes may be particularly important in early-onset OCD.
Authors: Susanne Walitza; Jens R Wendland; Edna Gruenblatt; Andreas Warnke; Thomas A Sontag; Oliver Tucha; Klaus W Lange Journal: Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2010-03-06 Impact factor: 4.785
Authors: Gerrit I Van Schalkwyk; Ish P Bhalla; Matthew Griepp; Benjamin Kelmendi; Larry Davidson; Christopher Pittenger Journal: Aust N Z J Psychiatry Date: 2015-04-08 Impact factor: 5.744
Authors: Emily R Stern; Goi Khia Eng; Alessandro S De Nadai; Dan V Iosifescu; Russell H Tobe; Katherine A Collins Journal: Transl Psychiatry Date: 2022-01-12 Impact factor: 7.989