Who is affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common anxiety disorder that affects 2% to 3% of the general population (millions of people worldwide).¹

OCD usually begins during late adolescence or early adulthood.
One-third of those with OCD report that their first symptoms began before the age of 15.²
OCD occurs equally in males and females.
OCD usually starts earlier in males than in females. (It is possible for preschool children to develop OCD, although this is rare.)³
- Males most often develop OCD between the ages of 6 and 15.
- Females usually develop OCD between the ages of 20 and 29.
- OCD is found in people from all ethnic backgrounds.
- OCD occurs more often in people who have parents or siblings (first-degree family members) with OCD.^3,¹

References

Citations

Sadock BJ, Sadock VA (2007). Obsessive-compulsive disorder. In Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry, 10th ed., pp. 604–612. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

King RA, et al. (1998). Practice parameters for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37(10, Suppl): 27S–45S.

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Obsessive-compulsivedisorder. In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,4th ed., text rev., pp. 456–463. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Credits

Author	Jeannette Curtis
Editor	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor	Pat Truman, MATC
Primary Medical Reviewer	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Lisa S. Weinstock, MD - Psychiatry
Last Updated	June 25, 2008