Compulsive and Impulsive Disorders: Symptoms, Mechanisms and Therapeutic Approaches

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 9645

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, MONASH University, 770 Blackburn Road, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
2. D'Or Institute for Research and Education, D'Or São Luiz Network, Rua Diniz Cordeiro, 30, 3o. andar Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 222281-100, Brazil
3. Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Av. Venceslau Brás, 71 Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro 22290-140, RJ, Brazil
Interests: obsessive-compulsive disorder; compulsive behavior; psychopathology; psychiatry
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Depending on their definitions and diagnostic limits, compulsive and impulsive disorders are thought to affect up to 10% of the general population. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, the paradigmatic compulsive disorder, has a long tradition within psychiatry and has influenced much of the research on the clinical expression and therapeutic approaches of a series of related conditions, now broadly recognized as obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. These conditions include body dysmorphic disorder, hypochondriasis, olfactory reference disorder, hoarding disorder, trichotillomania, and excoriation disorders. On the other hand, impulsive disorders (a less homogenous group) have been traditionally listed in different parts or chapters of diagnostic manuals (e.g., as disorders due substance use and addictive behaviors, disruptive behaviors, and impulse control disorder per se). Based on their superficial resemblance, inherent differences, and shared mechanisms, psychiatry “architects” have discussed whether these disorders could be subsumed by a common impulsive-compulsive construct. In this Special Issue of the Journal of Clinical Medicine, we are welcoming papers that examine both the specificities (subtypes) within these disorders and their common transdiagnostic mechanisms to help redefine their limits and propose new treatments.

Prof. Leonardo F. Fontenelle
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • compulsive behavior
  • body dysmorphic disorder
  • hoarding
  • trichotillomania
  • disruptive, impulse control, and conduct disorders
  • addictive behavior

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 322 KiB  
Article
Symmetry Dimension in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder: Prevalence, Severity and Clinical Correlates
by Aline P. Vellozo, Leonardo F. Fontenelle, Ricardo C. Torresan, Roseli G. Shavitt, Ygor A. Ferrão, Maria C. Rosário, Euripedes C. Miguel and Albina R. Torres
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(2), 274; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10020274 - 13 Jan 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3441
Abstract
Background: Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a very heterogeneous condition that frequently includes symptoms of the “symmetry dimension” (i.e., obsessions and/or compulsions of symmetry, ordering, repetition, and counting), along with aggressive, sexual/religious, contamination/cleaning, and hoarding dimensions. Methods: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the [...] Read more.
Background: Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a very heterogeneous condition that frequently includes symptoms of the “symmetry dimension” (i.e., obsessions and/or compulsions of symmetry, ordering, repetition, and counting), along with aggressive, sexual/religious, contamination/cleaning, and hoarding dimensions. Methods: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence, severity, and demographic and clinical correlates of the symmetry dimension among 1001 outpatients from the Brazilian Research Consortium on Obsessive–Compulsive Spectrum Disorders. The main assessment instruments used were the Dimensional Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale, the Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale, the USP-Sensory Phenomena Scale, the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale, and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders. Chi-square tests, Fisher’s exact tests, Student’s t-tests, and Mann–Whitney tests were used in the bivariate analyses to compare patients with and without symptoms of the symmetry dimension. Odds ratios (ORs) with confidence intervals and Cohen’s D were also calculated as effect size measures. Finally, a logistic regression was performed to control for confounders. Results: The symmetry dimension was highly prevalent (86.8%) in this large clinical sample and, in the logistic regression, it remained associated with earlier onset of obsessive–compulsive symptoms, insidious onset of compulsions, more severe depressive symptoms, and presence of sensory phenomena. Conclusions: A deeper knowledge about specific OCD dimensions is essential for a better understanding and management of this complex and multifaceted disorder. Full article
19 pages, 310 KiB  
Article
Stressful Life Events and the Clinical Expression of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD): An Exploratory Study
by André Kracker Imthon, César Antônio Caldart, Maria Conceição do Rosário, Leonardo F. Fontenelle, Euripedes Constantino Miguel and Ygor Arzeno Ferrão
J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9(10), 3371; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9103371 - 21 Oct 2020
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5640
Abstract
Background: In obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), symptom content and severity appear to fluctuate over the course of the life cycle in accordance with stressful life events. The objective of this paper was to compare OCD patients with and without reported stressful life events (SLEs) [...] Read more.
Background: In obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), symptom content and severity appear to fluctuate over the course of the life cycle in accordance with stressful life events. The objective of this paper was to compare OCD patients with and without reported stressful life events (SLEs) in terms of the sociodemographics of patients and the clinical characteristics of OCD. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 1001 patients with OCD. Data concerning SLEs were collected via the Yale OCD Natural History Questionnaire, while for OCD symptoms, the Dimensional Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale was used. Results: Of the 1001 OCD patients, 605 (60.5%) reported experiencing at least one SLE in their lifetime. Self-declared nonwhite skin color (odds ratio (OR) = 1.51), the presence of a sensory phenomenon (OR = 1.47), and comorbidity with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (OR = 2.38) were some of the logistic regression variables related to the reported SLEs with relevant statistical significance and risk (i.e., OR) values. Conclusions: Our results indicate that SLEs may make Brazilian OCD patients vulnerable to the onset or exacerbation of obsessive–compulsive symptoms. The positive association of the occurrence of SLEs and sensory phenomena in this population could corroborate that environmental influences impact the neurobiology associated with OCD, and likely with other psychiatric disorders as well. Full article
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