Obsessions and Suicidality in Youth With Bipolar 1 Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common co-morbidity with bipolar I disorder, a comorbidity that is known to increase suicide risk. This study aimed to assess the presence of OCD in youth diagnosed with bipolar I disorder & to evaluate the association between OCD and suicide in the same cohort.

Eighty subjects diagnosed with bipolar I disorder were enrolled in this study, subjects were divided according to the presence or absence of OCD to Group A: Bipolar disorder patients with OCD (n = 26), Group B: Bipolar disorder patients without OCD (n = 54). The following scales were applied: Dimensional Yale-Brown obsessive compulsive scale (DYBOCS)- Beck scale for Suicidal ideations (BSSI) - Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS) and Young mania rating scale (YMRS).

The results revealed that DYBOCS score of group A was 30.23±0.43, & of group B was 18.50±1.88 with a significant difference (p<0.01). There was a significantpositive correlation between BSSI and age, age of onset and YMRS in Group A (p<0.01).

The study demonstrated that OCD is a common comorbidity in youth with bipolar I disorder and may be associated with a greater risk of suicide than in youth with bipolar I disorder without co-morbid OCD. Furthermore, co-morbidity of OCD with bipolar I disorder in youth may be associated with younger age of onset and more severe symptoms profile.