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COVID-19 Pandemic and Mental Health : Prevalence and Correlates of New-Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in a Canadian Province Abba-Aji, Adam; Li, Daniel; Hrabok, Marianne; Shalaby, Reham; Gusnowski, April; Vuong, Wesley; Surood, Shireen; Nkire, Nnamdi; Li, Xin-Min; Greenshaw, Andrew J.; Agyapong, Vincent I. O.

Abstract

Background: This cross-sectional online survey investigates the prevalence of obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms at an early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Methods: OCD symptoms, moderate/high stress, likely generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and likely major depressive disorder (MDD) were assessed with the Brief Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (BOCS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale, respectively. Results: Out of 32,805 individuals subscribed to Text4Hope, 6041 completed an online survey; the response rate was 18.4%. Overall, 60.3% of respondents reported onset of OCD symptoms and 53.8% had compulsions to wash hands during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents who showed OCD symptoms only since the start of COVID-19 were significantly more likely to have moderate/high stress (z = 6.4, p < 0.001), likely GAD (z = 6.0, p < 0.001), and likely MDD (z = 2.7, p < 0.01). Similarly, respondents who engaged in compulsive hand washing were significantly more likely to have moderate/high stress (z = 4.6, p < 0.001) and likely GAD (z = 4.6 p < 0.001), but not likely MDD (z = 1.4, p = 0.16). Conclusion: The prevalence of OCD symptoms increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a rate significantly higher than pre-pandemic rates reported for the sample population. Presenting with OCD symptoms increased the likelihood of presenting with elevated stress, likely GAD, and likely MDD.

Item Metadata

Title
COVID-19 Pandemic and Mental Health : Prevalence and Correlates of New-Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in a Canadian Province
Creator
Abba-Aji, Adam; Li, Daniel; Hrabok, Marianne; Shalaby, Reham; Gusnowski, April; Vuong, Wesley; Surood, Shireen; Nkire, Nnamdi; Li, Xin-Min; Greenshaw, Andrew J.; Agyapong, Vincent I. O.
Contributor
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Organization). Digital Hub for Mental Health
Publisher
MDPI
Date Issued
2020-09-24
Description
Background: This cross-sectional online survey investigates the prevalence of obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms at an early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Methods: OCD symptoms, moderate/high stress, likely generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and likely major depressive disorder (MDD) were assessed with the Brief Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (BOCS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale, respectively. Results: Out of 32,805 individuals subscribed to Text4Hope, 6041 completed an online survey; the response rate was 18.4%. Overall, 60.3% of respondents reported onset of OCD symptoms and 53.8% had compulsions to wash hands during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents who showed OCD symptoms only since the start of COVID-19 were significantly more likely to have moderate/high stress (z = 6.4, p < 0.001), likely GAD (z = 6.0, p < 0.001), and likely MDD (z = 2.7, p < 0.01). Similarly, respondents who engaged in compulsive hand washing were significantly more likely to have moderate/high stress (z = 4.6, p < 0.001) and likely GAD (z = 4.6 p < 0.001), but not likely MDD (z = 1.4, p = 0.16). Conclusion: The prevalence of OCD symptoms increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a rate significantly higher than pre-pandemic rates reported for the sample population. Presenting with OCD symptoms increased the likelihood of presenting with elevated stress, likely GAD, and likely MDD.
Subject
COVID-19; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Stress; Anxiety; Generalized anxiety disorder; Depression; Major depressive disorder; Public health; Text; Technology; Pandemic
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-07-12
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0400140
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/78912
Affiliation
Non UBC
Citation
Abba-Aji, A.; Li, D.; Hrabok, M.; Shalaby, R.; Gusnowski, A.; Vuong, W.; Surood, S.; Nkire, N.; Li, X.-M.; Greenshaw, A.J.; Agyapong, V.I.O. COVID-19 Pandemic and Mental Health: Prevalence and Correlates of New-Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in a Canadian Province. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6986.
Publisher DOI
10.3390/ijerph17196986
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher; Graduate
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International