ABSTRACT:
Objective: The obsessive-compulsive disorder is considered as a type of anxiety disorder, yet a heterogeneous and incongruous disorder with different subsets and a great worldwide mental health problem. The disorder has been associated to various etiology factors and early diagnosis and treatment is of great importance. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms in the population of 18-66-year-old county of Gonabad in 2016. Design: In this descriptive and analytic study, a sample of 900 hundred individuals (436 males, 464 females) from the general population of 18-66-year-old in Gonabad county were investigated through demography questionnaire, obsessive-compulsive inventory-revised scale, and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. After gathering the information, the data were analyzed through SPSS16 software and Chi Square Test. Results: In the current study the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder stated to be 2.3%. The prevalence of the disorder was more among female than males and the most and the least rate of disorder prevalence was among the age range of 18-24 and 46-52, respectively. The results of chi square test indicated that age and gender had significant relationship with obsessive-compulsive disorder (P<0.05). However, in the current study, marital status and subjects’ educational degrees had no significant relationship with obsessive-compulsive disorder (p>0.05). Conclusions: A relatively high prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the general population of Gonabad County emphasizes the necessity of fruitful therapeutic interventions in reducing the patients’ problems and prevention programs by psychology and psychiatry experts.