Cynthia Turner

Children with very early onset obsessive-compulsive disorder: clinical features and treatment outcome

BACKGROUNDnThere is emerging evidence that early onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be a phenomenologically distinct subtype of the disorder. Previous research has shown that individuals who report an early onset display greater severity and persistence of symptoms, and they may be less responsive to treatment. To date, this question has been investigated solely in adult samples. The present study represents the first investigation into the effect of age at onset of OCD on clinical characteristics and response to treatment in a paediatric sample.nnnMETHODnA total of 365 young people referred to a specialist OCD clinic were included in the study. Clinical records were used to examine potential differences in key clinical characteristics between those who had a very early onset of the disorder (before 10 years) and those who had a late onset (10 years or later). Group differences in treatment responsiveness were also examined within a subgroup that received cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) alone or CBT plus medication (n = 109).nnnRESULTSnThe very early onset group were characterised by a longer duration of illness, higher rates of comorbid tics, more frequent ordering and repeating compulsions and greater parent-reported psychosocial difficulties. There were no differences in treatment response between the groups, and when age at onset was examined as a continuous variable, it did not correlate with treatment response.nnnCONCLUSIONSnVery early onset OCD may be associated with different symptoms and comorbidities compared with late onset OCD. However, these differences do not appear to impact on responsiveness to developmentally tailored CBT alone or in combination with medication. These findings further indicate the value in early detection and treatment of OCD in childhood.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy with post-session d-cycloserine augmentation for paediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: pilot randomised controlled trial

A partial N-methyl-D-aspartate agonist, D-cycloserine, enhances fear extinction when given before or shortly after exposure to feared stimuli in animals. In this pilot double-blind placebo-controlled trial (trial number: ISRCTN70977225), 27 youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder were randomised to either 50 mg D-cycloserine or placebo administered immediately after each of ten cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions, primarily consisting of exposure and ritual prevention. Both groups improved significantly and maintained their gains at 1-year follow-up, with no significant advantage of D-cycloserine over placebo at any time point. The effects of CBT may not be augmented or accelerated when D-cycloserine is administered after sessions.

A Pilot Study of Telephone Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Young People

BACKGROUNDnCognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) is the recommended psychological treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in young people. Access to CBT may be limited by a number of factors, including lack of trained therapists, and geographic or financial factors preventing access to a specialized service. Telephone delivery of CBT represents one way of overcoming some of these accessibility issues. This pilot study describes outcomes for a telephone-based cognitive-behavioural treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in young people.nnnMETHODnTen participants, aged 13 to 17 years, and their parents received up to 16 sessions of telephone CBT (TCBT). Measures of OCD symptoms were obtained using multiple informants and a repeated measures design. Assessments were conducted at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 6- and 12-month follow-up.nnnRESULTSnImprovements were found for OCD symptoms across all informants. Family satisfaction with treatment over the telephone was high.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe findings suggest that TCBT is a clinically effective, feasible and acceptable means of service delivery that offers the potential to make CBT a more accessible treatment for young people. TCBT requires further evaluation in randomized, controlled trials to compare effectiveness with face-to-face CBT, which currently represents the usual care model.

Telephone cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial.

Objective Many adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not have access to evidence-based treatment. A randomized controlled non-inferiority trial was conducted in a specialist OCD clinic to evaluate the effectiveness of telephone cognitive-behavioral therapy (TCBT) for adolescents with OCD compared to standard clinic-based, face-to-face CBT. Method Seventy-two adolescents, aged 11 through 18 years with primary OCD, and their parents were randomized to receive specialist TCBT or CBT. The intervention provided differed only in the method of treatment delivery. All participants received up to 14 sessions of CBT, incorporating exposure with response prevention (E/RP), provided by experienced therapists. The primary outcome measure was the Children’s Yale–Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS). Blind assessor ratings were obtained at midtreatment, posttreatment, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up. Results Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that TCBT was not inferior to face-to-face CBT at posttreatment, 3-month, and 6-month follow-up. At 12-month follow-up, there were no significant between-group differences on the CY-BOCS, but the confidence intervals exceeded the non-inferiority threshold. All secondary measures confirmed non-inferiority at all assessment points. Improvements made during treatment were maintained through to 12-month follow-up. Participants in each condition reported high levels of satisfaction with the intervention received. Conclusion TCBT is an effective treatment and is not inferior to standard clinic-based CBT, at least in the midterm. This approach provides a means of making a specialized treatment more accessible to many adolescents with OCD. Clinical trial registration information–Evaluation of telephone-administered cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) for young people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); http://www.controlled-trials.com; ISRCTN27070832.

Temper outbursts in paediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder and their association with depressed mood and treatment outcome

Background: Temper outbursts in youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are a common source of concern, but remain poorly understood. This study examined a set of hypotheses related to: (a) the prevalence of temper outbursts in paediatric OCD, (b) the associations of temper outbursts with OCD severity and depressive symptoms; and (c) the influence of temper outbursts on treatment response. Methods: The prevalence of temper outbursts was estimated in a specialist OCD clinical sample (n = 387) using parent- and child-report. This was replicated in a community sample (n = 18,415). Associations of temper outbursts with obsessive-compulsive symptoms and with depressed mood were examined using logistic regression models. The influence of temper outbursts on treatment response was examined in a subsample of 109 patients treated with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) with or without medication. Results: Over a third of young people with OCD displayed temper outbursts, and rates were similar across the clinical and community samples. Temper outbursts were two to three times more common in youth with OCD than in healthy controls. However, OCD symptom severity was not a strong predictor of child- or parent-reported temper outbursts. Instead, both child- and parent- reported temper outbursts were significantly associated to depressive symptoms. CBT strongly reduced OCD and depressive symptoms, as well as the severity of temper outbursts. There was no significant difference in post-treatment OCD or depression scores between those with temper outbursts compared to those without. Conclusions: Temper outbursts are common in youth with OCD and are particularly related to depressed mood. They improve with CBT for OCD and do not seem to impede OCD treatment response.

Is childhood OCD a risk factor for eating disorders later in life? A longitudinal study.

BACKGROUNDnIt has been suggested that childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be a risk factor for the development of an eating disorder (ED) later in life, but prospective studies are lacking. We aimed to determine the prevalence of ED at follow-up and clinical predictors in a longitudinal clinical sample of adolescents/young adults diagnosed with OCD in childhood.nnnMETHODnAll contactable (n=231) young people with OCD assessed over 9 years at a national and specialist paediatric OCD clinic were included in this study. At follow-up, 126 (57%) young people and parents completed the ED section of the Developmental and Well-being Assessment. Predictors for ED were investigated using logistic regression.nnnRESULTSnIn total, 16 participants (12.7%) had a diagnosis of ED at follow-up. Having an ED was associated with female gender and persistent OCD at follow-up. There was a trend for family history of ED being predictive of ED diagnosis. Five (30%) of those who developed an ED at follow-up had ED symptoms or food-related obsessions/compulsions at baseline. A difference in predictors for an ED versus other anxiety disorders at follow-up was identified.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThis study provides initial evidence that baseline clinical predictors such as female gender and family history of ED might be specific to the later development of ED in the context of childhood OCD. Clinicians should be alert to ED subthreshold symptoms in young girls presenting with OCD. Future longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the relationship between childhood OCD and later ED.

A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents With Body Dysmorphic Disorder

OBJECTIVEnBody dysmorphic disorder (BDD) typically starts in adolescence, but evidence-based treatments are yet to be developed and formally evaluated in this age group. We designed an age-appropriate cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) protocol for adolescents with BDD and evaluated its acceptability and efficacy in a pilot randomized controlled trial.nnnMETHODnThirty adolescents aged 12 to 18 years (mean = 16.0, SD = 1.7) with a primary diagnosis of BDD, together with their families, were randomly assigned to 14 sessions of CBT delivered over 4 months or a control condition of equivalent duration, consisting of written psycho-education materials and weekly telephone monitoring. Blinded evaluators assessed participants at baseline, midtreatment, posttreatment, and at 2-month follow-up. The primary outcome measure was the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Modified for BDD, Adolescent Version (mean baseline score = 37.13, SD = 4.98, range = 24-43).nnnRESULTSnThe CBT group showed a significantly greater improvement than the control group, both at posttreatment (time × group interaction coefficient [95% CI] = -11.26 [-17.22 to -5.31]; p = .000) and at 2-month follow-up (time × group interaction coefficient [95% CI] = -9.62 [-15.74 to -3.51]; p = .002). Six participants (40%) in the CBT group and 1 participant (6.7%) in the control condition were classified as responders at both time points (χ(2) = 4.658, p = .031). Improvements were also seen on secondary measures, including insight, depression, and quality of life at posttreatment. Both patients and their families deemed the treatment as highly acceptable.nnnCONCLUSIONnDevelopmentally tailored CBT is a promising intervention for young people with BDD, although there is significant room for improvement. Further clinical trials incorporating lessons learned in this pilot study and comparing CBT and pharmacological therapies, as well as their combination, are warranted.nnnCLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATIONnCognitive-Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents With Body Dysmorphic Disorder; http://www.isrctn.com/; ISRCTN67699666.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents with Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Case Series

BACKGROUNDnBody dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is relatively common in adolescents and can have serious negative consequences. However, the treatment of BDD in young people has received virtually no empirical attention to date, and the evidence-base for cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) in this population is limited to a small number of single case reports.nnnAIMSnThis study aimed to investigate treatment outcomes associated with CBT, primarily consisting of exposure and response prevention, in a group of young people with BDD.nnnMETHODnSix adolescents with a diagnosis of BDD received a course of developmentally appropriate CBT for BDD with parental involvement. BDD and depressive symptoms were evaluated at pre-treatment, post-treatment and at 3- or 6-month follow-up, using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for BDD (BDD-YBOCS) and the Beck Depression Inventory-Youth, respectively.nnnRESULTSnScores on the BDD-YBOCS indicated a 44% improvement in BDD symptoms at post-treatment and a 57% improvement at follow-up for the group. Considering response as a ≥ 30% reduction in BDD-YBOCS score, four of the six adolescents were classified as treatment responders. Improvements in depressive symptoms were observed among the treatment responders, but not the non-responders.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThese findings indicate the potential efficacy of CBT, including exposure and response prevention for adolescents with BDD, and highlight the need for further controlled trials.

Prevalence and correlates of body dysmorphic disorder in a community sample of adolescents

Objective: Body dysmorphic disorder typically begins in adolescence, yet little is known about the prevalence and correlates of the disorder in this age group. The current study aimed to explore the presenting features of adolescents meeting probable criteria for body dysmorphic disorder in a large community sample, and compare levels of comorbid psychopathology, quality of life and mental health service use between adolescents with probable body dysmorphic disorder and those without. Method: Questionnaires were completed at school by 3149 adolescents: 63% male, aged 12–18u2009years (Mu2009=u200914.58). These assessed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) body dysmorphic disorder criteria, past mental health service use and symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders. In male participants, additional measures assessed quality of life, muscularity concerns, emotional symptoms, peer problems, conduct problems and hyperactivity. Results: The prevalence of probable body dysmorphic disorder was 1.7%; there was no sex difference in prevalence, but older adolescents reported higher prevalence than younger adolescents. Probable body dysmorphic disorder participants reported substantially elevated levels of psychopathology, quality of life impairment and mental health service use compared to non-body dysmorphic disorder participants. Conclusions: The prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in adolescents is similar to adult samples, and probable body dysmorphic disorder is associated with comorbidity, distress and functional impairment in a community sample. Further research is required to better understand the presentation of body dysmorphic disorder in adolescents, and to improve diagnosis and treatment.

EFFECTS OF HOMEWORK COMPLIANCE ON COGNITIVE‐BEHAVIORAL THERAPY WITH D‐CYCLOSERINE AUGMENTATION FOR CHILDREN WITH OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER

The present study examined the effects of homework compliance on outcome from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children with obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) and the extent to which these effects differ as a function of augmentation of CBT with D‐cycloserine (DCS).