Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders (OCRD) Across the Lifespan

Abstract

Although research on obsessive-compulsive related disorders is still limited, the number of studies in this field is growing systematically. The OCRDs, including Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Hoarding Disorder, Trichotillomania, Excoriation (Skin Picking) Disorder, have received increasing attention since they were gathered in a separate group in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The introduction of specific diagnostic criteria of excoriation disorder and hoarding disorder also opened up a new research direction.

Despite capturing growing attention, existing data on the OCRDs prevalence in general are still poorly integrated due to several reasons. The significant methodological limitation of prior epidemiological studies was the use of definitions that do not match the current DSM-5 criteria. Also, since OCRDs' symptoms are distributed in the community along the continuum ranging from relatively common non-clinical forms to extreme and less-frequently occurring clinical cases, the earlier lack of uniform diagnostic criteria made it difficult to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical cases resulting in inaccurate prevalence ratings. Likewise, although currently characterized as separate clinical syndromes, behaviors such as hoarding, skin picking or hair pulling, may also occur in the context of other medical conditions and may be considered simply as symptoms of other diseases. Furthermore, OCRDs symptoms appear gradually and may wax and wane in intensity over time, which results in different prevalence ratings in adults and children/adolescents. What is more, in some countries there is still little awareness of these disorders (trichotillomania and skin picking in particular), which leads to widespread misconception of these disorders as bad habits.

This Research Topic aims to summarize the current state of knowledge on the various aspects of Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders, examined in both general community samples and clinical samples of adults and children/adolescents.

We specifically encourage submissions addressing the following topics:
• OCRDs prevalence in the general population
• OCRDs prevalence among non-help seekers
• OCRDs symptoms in clinical groups of psychiatric and dermatological patients
• Age and gender differences in OCRDs course and symptoms
• OCRDs risk factors in different populations
• Sociocultural context of OCRD diagnosis and treatment
• Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of OCRDs
• OCRDs comorbidity across the lifespan
• OCRDs assessment, including measurement prosperities of screening and diagnostic tools
• prevention, early treatment and course alteration approaches of OCRDs.

We invite authors to submit original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, mini-reviews, hypotheses and theories, methods and case reports.