Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Symptoms in Children and Adolescents: A One-Year Follow-Up Study

Abstract

Objective: To examine how COVID-19 affected obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom trajectories in children and adolescents across pre-, during-, and post-pandemic periods over one year. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six youth with a prior diagnosis of OCD (Mage=13.5 years, SD=2.9) completed the Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) and the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale at three time points: before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and after the pandemic. Nonparametric repeated-measures tests (Friedman) with DunnBonferroni post hoc contrasts evaluated the change over time. Results: Time effects were significant for global severity (CGIS: χ²(2)=7.35, p=0.025) and CY-BOCS total (χ²(2)=6.44, p=0.040), with descriptively highest total symptoms during the pandemic (18.66±6.73) versus pre-pandemic (14.55±5.20; p=0.08) and postpandemic (12.80±8.00; p=0.17); pairwise contrasts for totals were not significant. Obsessions showed a significant during-to-post reduction (χ²(2)=9.27, p=0.010; Dunn-Bonferroni p=0.047), with a marginal pre-to-during increase (p=0.055). Compulsion had a significant effect (χ²(2)=6.33, p=0.042), but post hoc comparisons were not significant. Conclusion: Youth with OCD showed increased severity during the pandemic that later eased; obsessions improved post-pandemic, while total and compulsion scores showed no clear pairwise changes. This pattern indicates partial recovery and underscores the need for continued monitoring and timely evidence-based care during and after crises.

Keywords

• OCD
• COVID-19
• children
• adolescents
• obsessions
• compulsion

Çocuk ve Ergenlerde COVID-19 Pandemisinin Obsesif-Kompulsif Bozukluk Belirtileri Üzerindeki Uzun Vadeli Etkisi: Bir Yıllık İzlem Çalışması

Abstract

Amaç: COVID-19’un, çocuk ve ergenlerde obsesif-kompulsif bozukluk (OKB) belirti seyirlerini pandemi öncesi, pandemi sırası ve pandemi sonrası bir yıllık izlem boyunca incelemek. Gereç ve Yöntemler: OKB tanısı olan 36 genç (ortalama yaş=13,5, SS=2,9) pandemi öncesi, pandemi sırası ve pandemi sonrasında üç zaman noktasında değerlendirildi. Ölçümler için Çocuk Yale-Brown Obsesif Kompulsif Ölçeği (CY-BOCS) ile Klinik Genel İzlenim-Şiddet Ölçeği (CGI-S) kullanıldı. Zamana bağlı değişimi test etmek üzere parametrik olmayan tekrarlı ölçümler için Friedman testi ve DunnBonferroni düzeltmeli ikili karşılaştırmalar uygulandı. Bulgular: Zamana bağlı etkiler, CGI-S (CGI-S: χ²(2)=7,35, p=0,025) ve CY-BOCS toplamı için anlamlıydı (χ²(2)=6,44, p=0,040); toplam belirti düzeyleri betimsel olarak pandemi sırasında en yüksekti (18,66±6,73), pandemi öncesine (14,55±5,20; p=0,08) ve pandemi sonrasına (12,80±8,00; p=0,17) kıyasla; toplam puanlar için ikili karşılaştırmalar anlamlı değildi. Obsesyonlar, pandemi sırasından pandemi sonrasına anlamlı bir azalma gösterdi (χ²(2)=9,27, p=0,010; Dunn-Bonferroni p=0,047) ve pandemi öncesinden pandemi sırasına artış marjinaldi (p=0,055). Kompulsiyonlar için genel etki anlamlıydı (χ²(2)=6,33, p=0,042), ancak post-hoc karşılaştırmalar anlamlı değildi. Sonuç: Pandemi döneminde genel şiddet arttı ve sonrasında hafifledi; obsesyonlarda pandemi sonrası belirgin iyileşme görüldü, toplam ve kompulsiyon puanlarında ise net ikili değişimler saptanmadı. Bulgular kısmi iyileşmeye ve kriz dönemlerinde sürekli izlem ile kanıta dayalı tedavinin önemine işaret etmektedir.

Keywords

• OKB
• COVID-19
• çocuklar
• ergenler
• obsesyonlar
• kompulsiyonlar

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