Quality of life with OCD. A self-reported survey among members of the Danish OCD Association

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is today the fourth most frequent diagnosis issued within psychiatry. OCD can be quite incapacitating for the affected person and often becomes chronic. The purpose of the present study has been to help illuminate the character of the quality of life among the members of the Danish OCD Association. The data was compiled from 406 questionnaires sent out to all those members of the Danish OCD Association who had reported to suffer from OCD. The level of response was 54.4%. Persons with OCD signalled striking influences on their academic, occupational and social functions and thereby a corresponding influence on their quality of life in general. Emerging were significant levels of comorbidity and suicidal tendency. The time interval between symptom onset and the establishment of a correct diagnosis was found to be 13 years in average in this study. There appeared to be a marked tardiness in treatment as a consequence of the latency period between onset of symptoms and the establishment of a diagnosis. This has proven to be of importance in relation to the provision of proper treatment, the developmental course of the OCD condition, and not least in the quality of life for the person with OCD as well as his/her family members.