Prevalence of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Symptoms in a Sample of Medical Students in Iraq

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) is a common mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. The worldwide prevalence of OCD is approximately 2% of the general population.Objective: To assess prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms in a sample of medical students in Iraq.Methods: A cross-sectional study design with a convenience sampling method, was conducted on 414 Iraqi medical students duringthe period from 1st November, 2022 to 28th February, 2023. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire submitted online. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: The first included socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, college year, residence, marital status) and risk factors, whereas the second part consisted of 20 items from the Revised Arabic Scale of Obsession-Compulsion.Results: It was found that (38.9%) of participants had OCD symptoms. The overall weighted mean and standard deviation, was 2.13 ± 0.599, so any mean equal to or exceeding this value was highly indicative of OCDthe cut-off point). Significant associations were found between positive family history of OCD, age, college year, and OCD symptom score.Conclusion: OCD symptoms were found in over one third of the Iraqi medical students included in the study. A positive family history of OCD, younger age, and early college years seem to be associated with higher OCD symptom scores.