Highlighting the relationship between obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and tic disorder (TD), two highly disabling, comorbid, and difficult-to-treat conditions, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) acknowledged a new “tic-related” specifier for OCD, ie, obsessive–compulsive tic-related disorder (OCTD). As patients with OCTD may frequently show poor treatment response, the aim of this multicenter study was to investigate rates and clinical correlates of response, remission, and treatment resistance in a large multicenter sample of OCD patients with versus without tics.

A sample of 398 patients with a DSM-5 diagnosis of OCD with and without comorbid TD was assessed from 10 different psychiatric departments across Italy. For the purpose of the study, treatment response profiles in the whole sample were analyzed comparing the rates of response, remission, and treatment-resistance as well as related clinical features. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to identify possible factors associated with treatment response.

The remission group was associated with later ages of onset of TD and OCD. Moreover, significantly higher rates of psychiatric comorbidities, TD, and lifetime suicidal ideation and attempts emerged in the treatment-resistant group, with larger degrees of perceived worsened quality of life and family involvement.

Although remission was associated with later ages of OCD and TD onset, specific clinical factors, such as early onset and presence of psychiatric comorbidities and concomitant TD, predicted a worse treatment response with a significant impairment in quality of life for both patients and their caregivers, suggesting a worse profile of treatment response for patients with OCTD.

Sexual response in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) research and practice is overlooked. According to the Dual Control Model, satisfactory sexual response is based upon a balance of sexual excitation and inhibition. The assessment of sexual response in OCD may have clinical implications, such as the integration of sex therapy in psychotherapeutic intervention. The present study was aimed at comparing sexual excitation and inhibition levels between OCD patients and matched control subjects, and investigating whether obsessive beliefs might predict sexual excitation/inhibition.

Seventy-two OCD patients (mean age ± standard deviation [SD]: 34.50 ± 10.39 years) and 72 matched control subjects (mean age ± SD: 34.25 ± 10.18) were included (62.50% men and 37.50% women in both groups). The Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R), the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire-46 (OBQ-46), and the Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES) were administered.

Patients with OCD showed significantly higher levels of sexual excitation, inhibition due to threat of performance failure, and inhibition due to threat of performance consequences than the controls. In addition, the patients with more severe symptoms showed lower excitation than those with less severe symptoms, and those with higher perfectionism had stronger inhibition due to threat of performance failure than those with lower perfectionism.

This is the first study exploring sexual response in OCD according to the Dual Control Model. Sexual response is an impaired quality of life outcome in OCD that should be assessed in routine clinical practice. These findings support the importance of addressing specific obsessive beliefs to improve sexuality in OCD patients.