Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder News

In the past 13 years, 217,409 incidents of anxiety disorders were diagnosed among the active component of the US Armed Forces, according to data from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report.

Adding exposure and ritual prevention therapy to serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment decreased obsessive-compulsive disorder severity more than an antipsychotic or placebo, according to research published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Eating disorders appear more likely among women with personality disorders, according to new study data.

Parkinson’s disease itself did not increase the risk for impulsive behavior — such as gambling or shopping — that has been observed in patients taking medication for the disease, according to recent study data.

Researchers from the United Kingdom reported that men and women with mental health disorders were more likely to have experienced domestic violence compared with the general population. The prevalence of domestic violence was observed across a range of mental health diagnoses.

Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder demonstrated significantly increased activation of the ventral frontal cortex, a brain region critical to the experience of moral emotions, according to study results.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said successful legislation, federal programs and financial support from grants have helped raise awareness about the importance of mental health and greatly benefited those with mental health disorders. In 2011, 45.9 million American adults were diagnosed with a mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

A mother’s criticism of her child with obsessive-compulsive disorder may negatively impact that child’s treatment outcome, according to researchers. In a recent study from Case Western Reserve University, researchers also found that mothers tend to be more critical of children with the anxiety disorder than they are of unaffected siblings.