International Journal of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science 7(3): 29-39, 2019 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/ijnbs.2019.070302 Clinico-epidemiological Profile of Obsessive Compulsive Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Mangalore, India: A Retrospective Study Nitin Joseph 1,* , Prima Cheryl D'Souza 2 , Apurav Singh 3 , Tobin P Joseph 3 , Rahul Kondaveti 3 , Mancy Mothsera 3 , Fathima Noureen Kilikkot 3 1 Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India 2 Department of Psychiatry, Kasturba Medical College Hospital, Attavar, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India 3 Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India * Corresponding Author: drnitinjoseph@gmail.com Received October 17, 2019; Revised November 30, 2019; Accepted December 4, 2019 Copyright©2019 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract Introduction: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most common mental illness. It is associated with a wide range of functional impairments and therefore adversely affects the quality of life of patients. Objectives: To assess the risk factors, clinical features and management practices of OCD based on findings were stated in medical records. Methodology: The secondary data from the medical records of 9 OCD patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital over the past 10 years were recorded in a semi-structured proforma. Severity of OCD was assessed using Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale scores. Results: Mean age of onset among all patients (n=9) was 27.9±15.2 years. Family history of OCD was reported among 3(33.3%) patients. Six had predominant obsessions while the rest 3 had mixed type. The most common type of obsession was of sexual type reported among 3 patients. The most common compulsion reported was the checking type which was present among 2 patients. Reduced concentration, suicidal ideation and anhedonia were present each among 5(55.6%) patients. Depression was the most common co-morbidity reported among 5(55.6%) patients. Severity of OCD was mild among 5(55.6%). Fluvoxamine was the most common drug [5(55.6%)] used to treat OCD. Outcome of treatment was reported poor among 3(33.3%) patients. It was good/moderate among 1(25%) patient residing in urban area in comparison to 5(100%) from rural areas (p=0.048). Conclusion: Mean age of onset was found to be delayed among patients probably due to delay in identification of OCD. Hence awareness generation and early screening need to be initiated for early identification of OCD. The majority of OCD patients had positive history of suicide ideation and depression as co-morbidity, indicating the need of screening patients for these conditions. Keywords Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Risk factors, Clinical Features, Management 1. Introduction Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most common mental illness following phobias, substance abuse and depression. [1] Two out of every three patients develop OCD at an early age.[2] OCD is associated with less likelihood of completion of elementary school education [3], lower rates of marriage [4], less work productivity [5], disability, higher rates of unemployment, and a wide range of functional impairments [5]. It therefore adversely affects the quality of life of the patients. [6] It also makes the OCD affected person easily dependent on others and thereby impacts their family life much more than other anxiety disorders. [2] In spite of the long term problems associated with OCD, it has not yet received the due attention of clinicians, researchers and policy makers. [1] More than half of the OCD patients experience two or more co-morbid psychiatric conditions during their lifetime. [1] It is associated with high rates of major depression, social phobia [7], schizophrenia [8], bipolar disorder [8], and poor long-term social adjustment [9]. People may fear stigmatisation at work place, and often have concerns about disclosing its presence to their employers, family members and friends.[10] This could be the reason behind its under diagnosis. Poor insight and