Comorbid Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms in Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

This paper outlines the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and treatment of comorbid obsessive compulsive (OC) symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Compared to that of the general population, the prevalence of OC symptoms in schizophrenic patients is high and has a negative prognosis, adversely affecting the patients’ emotional and psychosocial functioning. Only 15.8% schizophrenic patients with OC symptoms lack insight into their OC symptoms, similar to the proportion of patients with pure obsessive compulsive disorder. Treatment includes pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, incorporating exposure and response prevention. If OC symptoms are induced by the use of second generation antipsychotics, pharmacotherapy may include reduction of the dose of the causative antipsychotics, change to another antipsychotic, or addition of aripiprazole. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may also be beneficial for comorbid OC symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, including those induced by antipsychotics.