Frequency of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and related factors in medical and dental students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, 2018

Considering the high incidence and the harmful effects of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) on the performance of individuals, this study aimed to investigate the frequency of OCD symptoms and its related dimensions in medical and dental students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) in 2018.

This cross-sectional (descriptive-analytic) study included all medical and dental students of KUMS in 2018. Sampling method was randomized stratified technique. Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) was used for data collection. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22. We used chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test to  analyze the hypothesis.

  The study included 250 students of KUMS (186 medical and 64 dental students). The mean age of the participants was 22.71±2.5 years. 127 subjects were men and 123 were women. The overall incidence of OCD was 54.4%. The highest incidence rate belonged to "doubting" (44.8%), and the lowest for "slowness and checking" (11.8%). The overall incidence of OCD had no statistically significant relationship with age, sex, educational level, and marital status. Both the overall incidence of OCD and the slowness and checking OCD were significantly higher in the students living with their families and lower in those living in dormitories (p < 0.01). Subjects with cleaning OCD had a lower mean age (P=0.030) and the incidence of this dimension was higher in externs (P=0.023). Washing and checking were the most common obsessive dimensions in women and men respectively.

In our study, obsessive-compulsive disorder had a high prevalence rate among medical and dental students; therefore, in order to reduce the complications, authorities should consider necessary measures for prevention, early diagnosis, and timely treatment of the disorder.