Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Other Symptoms of the At-risk Mental State for Psychosis: A Network Perspective

H.L. Ong, A.-M. Isvoranu, F. Schirmbeck, P. McGuire, L. Valmaggia, M.J. Kempton, M. Van Der Gaag, A. Riecher-Rössler, R.A. Bressan, N. Barrantes-Vidal, B. Nelson, G.P. Amminger, P. McGorry, C. Pantelis, M.-O. Krebs, M. Nordentoft, B. Glenthøj, S. Ruhrmann, G. Sachs, B.P.F. RuttenJ. Van Os, L. De Haan, D. Borsboom, M. Calem, S. Tognin, G. Modinos, S. Pisani, E. Hedges, E. Velthorst, T.C. Kraan, D.S. Van Dam, N. Burger, A. Politis, J. Goodall, S. Borgwardt, E. Studerus, A. Gadelha, E. Brietzke, G. Asevedo, E. Asevedo, A. Zugman, T. Domínguez-Martínez, M. Monsonet, L. Hinojosa, A. Racioppi, T.R. Kwapil, M. Kazes, C. Daban, J. Bourgin, O. Gay, C. Mam-Lam-Fook, D. Nordholm, L. Randers, K. Krakauer, L.B. Glenthøj, D. Gebhard, J. Arnhold, J. Klosterkötter, I. Lasser, B. Winklbaur, P.A. Delespaul

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

© 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.Background: The high prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) among subjects at Ultra-High Risk (UHR) for psychosis is well documented. However, the network structure spanning the relations between OCS and symptoms of the at risk mental state for psychosis as assessed with the Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental States (CAARMS) has not yet been investigated. This article aimed to use a network approach to investigate the associations between OCS and CAARMS symptoms in a large sample of individuals with different levels of risk for psychosis. Method: Three hundred and forty-one UHR and 66 healthy participants were included, who participated in the EU-GEI study. Data analysis consisted of constructing a network of CAARMS symptoms, investigating central items in the network, and identifying the shortest pathways between OCS and positive symptoms. Results: Strong associations between OCS and anxiety, social isolation and blunted affect were identified. Depression was the most central symptom in terms of the number of connections, and anxiety was a key item in bridging OCS to other symptoms. Shortest paths between OCS and positive symptoms revealed that unusual thought content and perceptual abnormalities were connected mainly via anxiety, while disorganized speech was connected via blunted affect and cognitive change. Conclusions: Findings provide valuable insight into the central role of depression and the potential connective component of anxiety between OCS and other symptoms of the network. Interventions specifically aimed to reduce affective symptoms might be crucial for the development and prospective course of symptom co-occurrence.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1018-1028
JournalSchizophrenia bulletin
Volume47
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2021

Funding

FundersFunder number
Seventh Framework Programme241909

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