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Communality between Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Comprehensive Guide to Autism

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and disabling anxiety disorder which affects approximately 1.5 % of the population. The average age of onset is 15 years, but OCD may start at any age although an onset after the age of 35 is viewed as rare. OCD is characterized by obsessions, e.g., images, repetitive thoughts, unwanted impulses to harm, and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions). Similarly, restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities characterize autism and are included in the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in DSM-5. Autistic personality traits are common in patients with OCD, and OCD is likewise common in individuals with ASD. The two conditions share a range of additional communalities: personality disorders within the obsessive-compulsive, avoidant, and schizotypal/schizoid domains; motor clumsiness and soft neurological signs; neuropsychological deficits; serotonergic dysfunction; immunological underpinnings; and a genetic overlap at the molecular level. Cognitive behavioral therapy could be used in OCD regardless of the presence of ASD; however, the outcome is often less favorable in individuals with ASD+OCD compared to those with only OCD or OCD coexisting with a tic disorder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 171 76, Sweden

    Susanne Bejerot

  2. Geha Mental Health Center, 49100, PetachTikva, Israel

    Abraham Weizman & Ruth Gross-Isseroff

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  1. Susanne Bejerot
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  2. Abraham Weizman
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  3. Ruth Gross-Isseroff
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Correspondence to Susanne Bejerot .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, Faculty of Science & Technology, London, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

  2. Nutritional Sciences Division and Genomics Centre, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. Faculty of Society and Health, Buckinghamshire New University, Middlesex, United Kingdom

    Colin R. Martin

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Bejerot, S., Weizman, A., Gross-Isseroff, R. (2014). Communality between Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders. In: Patel, V., Preedy, V., Martin, C. (eds) Comprehensive Guide to Autism. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4788-7_32

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