7.8%-31.7% of schizophrenic patients have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) as well (1,2). In this study, symptom profiles of OCD and OCD with schizophrenia is discussed in terms of similarities and differences and whether these could point towards discrete etiopathogenesis.

100 patients with schizophrenia and 50 patients with OCD, diagnosed using the DSM-IV criteria were included in the study group. The study group was treated at the outpatient clinic of Bakirkoy Hospital for Mental and Nervous Diseases, Istanbul, Turkey. Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used.

%16 of the schizophrenia patients had OCD. Y-BOCS obsession severity subscale total, compulsion severity subscale total and general total scores of the pure OCD group and the schizophrenia with OCD group were compared. There was no statistically significant difference. However comparison of obsession and compulsion content in the two groups revealed statistically significant difference in terms of religious obsessions (p=0.002), cleaning/washing compulsions (p=0.009) and controlling compulsions (p=0.008).

Our results were different in terms of the distribution of obsessive compulsive symptoms when compared with other studies about OCD and OCD with schizophrenia (1,4). Paying attention to differences in syptomatology by the clinicians might improve diagnosis and treatment. Neuropathology in pure OCD and OCD with schizophrenia may be diverse.