Effect of perceived stress level on efficiency of exposure and response prevention in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients

Objective To explore how perceived stress affects the efficiency of exposure and response prevention (ERP) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients.

Methods Twenty-seven outpatients meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition) criteria for OCD were treated with ERP for 8 weeks. The severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms were measured with Yale-Brown obsessive compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after treatment. Perceived stress was evaluated with perceived stress scale-10 (PSS-10) before treatment.

Results The response rate of ERP was 40.7%(11/27) 8 weeks after treatment. Individuals with higher pre-treatment levels of perceived stress were less likely to be responsive to ERP (OR=0.83, P=0.047).

Conclusions ERP did not appear to be effective in patients with high level of perceived stress.