Risk factors for obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Follow-up of a community-based youth cohort

Author(s):Show less -

Macul Ferreira de Barros, Pedro ^[1] ; do Rosario, Maria Conceicao ^[2] ; Szejko, Natalia ^{[3, 4]} ; Polga, Natalia ^[5] ; Requena, Guaraci de Lima ^[6] ; Ravagnani, Beatriz ^[1] ; Fatori, Daniel ^[1] ; Batistuzzo, Marcelo Camargo ^[1] ; Hoexter, Marcelo Queiroz ^[1] ; Rohde, Luis Augusto ^[7] ; Polanczyk, Guilherme Vanoni ^[1] ; Leckman, James Frederick ^[8] ; Miguel, Euripedes Constantino ^[1] ; de Alvarenga, Pedro Gomes ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Psychiat, R Dr Ovidio Pires Campos 785, BR-05403903 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Psychiat, Child & Adolescent Psychiat Unit UPIA, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Med Univ Warsaw, Dept Neurol, Warsaw - Poland

^[4] Med Univ Warsaw, Dept Bioeth, Warsaw - Poland

^[5] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Grad Program Psychol, Santos, SP - Brazil

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Math & Stat, Dept Stat, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[7] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Hosp Clin Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[8] Yale Univ, Sch Med, Yale Child Study Ctr, New Haven, CT - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: EUROPEAN CHILD & ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY; v. 30, n. 1 FEB 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Environmental factors are at least as important as genetic factors for the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS), but the identification of such factors remain a research priority. Our study aimed to investigate the association between a broad scope of potential risk factors and OCS in a large community cohort of children and adolescents. We evaluated 1877 participants and their caregivers at baseline and after 3 years to assess various demographic, prenatal, perinatal, childhood adversity, and psychopathological factors. Mean age at baseline was 10.2 years (SD 1.9) and mean age at follow-up was 13.4 years (SD 1.9). Reports of OCS at baseline and follow-up were analyzed using latent variable models. At preliminary regression analysis, 15 parameters were significantly associated with higher OCS scores at follow-up. At subsequent regression analysis, we found that eight of these parameters remained significantly associated with higher follow-up OCS scores while being controlled by each other and by baseline OCS scores. The significant predictors of follow-up OCS were: lower socioeconomic status (p = 0.033); lower intelligence quotient (p = 0.013); lower age (p < 0.001); higher maternal stress level during pregnancy (p = 0.028); absence of breastfeeding (p = 0.017); parental baseline OCS (p = 0.038); youth baseline anxiety disorder (p = 0.023); and youth baseline OCS scores (p < 0.001). These findings may better inform clinicians and policymakers engaged in the mental health assessment and prevention in children and adolescents. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/01587-0 - Storage, modeling and analysis of dynamical systems for e-Science applications
• Grantee: João Eduardo Ferreira
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - eScience and Data Science Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 08/57896-8 - National Institute for Developmental Psychiatry
• Grantee: Eurípedes Constantino Miguel Filho
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants