OCD Linked to 82% Higher Risk of Death, Study Finds

Suicide, accidents, and natural causes including respiratory diseases and mental disorders contribute to increased mortality rates among OCD sufferers.

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are 82% more likely to die from both natural and unnatural causes than those without the condition, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.
The study analyzed 61,378 people with OCD and 613,780 individuals without it over an eight-year period, revealing death rates of 8.1 and 5.1 per 1,000 person years respectively.
Suicide was found to be five times more likely in people with OCD, but the study also found that people with OCD were 31% more likely to die of a natural cause, and 92% more likely to die from an accident.
Among the natural causes of death, the biggest increase came from respiratory diseases, at 73%, while there were also 58 and 55% increases in deaths among OCD sufferers from mental and behavioural disorders, such as dementia, and disease of the urological system, respectively.
The authors suggested the difference in death rates could be reduced with prevention focused on the reduction of four major risk factors – namely, tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity – and efforts to promote early detection and improve access to specialist treatment for people with OCD.