Covid-19 Causes OCD in Children, Adolescents: Study

New studies show that obsessive-compulsive and obsessive-compulsive children and young people can have worsening OCD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms during a crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Previous studies have shown that trauma and stress can cause or exacerbate obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but current studies have been published in the journal BMC Psychiatry for this condition. We evaluated how children and adolescents experience an ongoing pandemic.

In this study, scientists, including scientists from Aarhus University in Denmark, sent a survey to two groups of children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 21.

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They said a group was diagnosed with OCD in the specialized section of the Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and all were in contact with hospital therapists.

The other group consisted of children and adolescents diagnosed many years ago, identified through the Danish OCD Association.

According to the survey, a total of 102 children completed the survey.

“In their experience, OCD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms worsened during a crisis like Covid-19, which was most pronounced in the groups identified through the OCD Association,” a study from Aarhus University. Co-author Per Hove Thomsen said.

Almost half of the children and adolescents who belonged to the first group reported worsening symptoms, and one-third said their anxiety worsened, the study said.

Scientists said one-third of the participants reported exacerbation of depressive symptoms.

And of these, almost one-fifth experienced exacerbation of both symptoms, they said.

In the other group, 73% reported worsening conditions, more than half reported worsening anxiety, and 43% reported increased depressive symptoms.

“This disorder is of particular interest to study in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic, because OCD has a variety of clinical manifestations, especially health concerns, fear of bacteria and stains, and excessive hand washing / disinfection use. “It’s a disorder that accompanies,” said Judith Nissen, co-author of the study.

“Therefore, it is important to investigate how such a serious crisis affects the onset, frequency, and progression of disability,” she added.

According to the survey, participants in the survey who expressed their thoughts and anxieties about how serious situations could occur, such as worrying about losing their families, experienced the most serious exacerbations of their symptoms.

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In particular, scientists said that children who began to suffer from OCD at an early age experienced the most significant deterioration.

“For children already worried about loss, daily explanations in the media of illness and death and recommendations for a focus on isolation and infection exacerbate these anxious thoughts, perhaps even for the youngest children. It can cause you to do it, “said Nissen.

She believes these children are most vulnerable to loss because they can be more difficult to understand the importance of infection and are highly dependent on their parents and grandparents. I will.

However, the researchers said the study failed to find a correlation with anxiety about infection and impulsive hand washing.

According to scientists, the findings show that children and adolescents with OCD may be vulnerable to crises such as Covid-19, whose anxiety about serious events characterizes a particularly vulnerable group. I am.

“This can be related to both the direct threat of infection and the consequences of having to maintain a significant level of concentration on social distance, social isolation, and hygiene.” Said Nissen.

“The crisis isn’t over yet, so it’s very important to continue to focus on vulnerable children and adolescents,” she added.