The relationships between low grade inflammation, demographic and clinical characteristics in patients with OCD

Objective: To our knowledge, no study has specifically examined the relationship between C-reactive protein CRP levels and clinical features in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), even though inflammation plays a role in the etiology of OCD. The aim of this study was to assess the associations between CRP levels and psychopathological and demographic variables in OCD. Methods: Ninety-eight consecutive outpatients with a diagnosis of OCD underwent a detailed clinical assessment for OCD. The study also utilized a cross-sectional patients' records design for obtaining CRP levels. Two groups of patients were compared by CRP levels at the cutoff of 3 mg/dl (high vs. normal). Results: Patients with high CRP levels exhibited worse insight, had earlier age of illness onset, higher rates of previous suicide attempts and positive family history for OCD compared to subjects with normal CRP levels. The logistic regression included three predictive variables for CRP status in patients with OCD (a) YBOCS-insight scores (b) age at onset and (c) family history of OCD. Conclusion: Our data indicates a significant association between inflammation and some clinical features in OCD. Future studies should prospectively examine longitudinal changes in CRP and its' association with clinical and demographic features.