Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18923068›Full record

SynthesisThe American journal of psychiatry2008

Meta-analysis of the symptom structure of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Michael H Bloch, Angeli Landeros-Weisenberger, Maria C Rosario, Christopher Pittenger, James F Leckman

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The American journal of psychiatry, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 204 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
204citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

204 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Article
  14. Observational
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Black EquaLity in OCD NeuroGenomics (BELONG): Study Protocol.American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics · 2026
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

144 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Michael H BlochYale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Rd., New Haven, CT 06520, USA. michael.bloch@yale.edu
Angeli Landeros-Weisenberger
Maria C Rosario
Christopher Pittenger
James F Leckman

Funding

TRAINING PROGRAM IN CHILDHOOD NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERST32MH018268 · NIMH · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI Michael H Bloch, MICHAEL J CROWLEY · 1985 to 2026
$11.0M
Longitudinal Structural MRI Study of Adulthood Outcome in Tourette SyndromeK23MH091240 · NIMH · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI BLOCH, MICHAEL H · 2010 to 2014
$902k
Treatment of Tourette's Syndrome & Obsessive-Compulsive DisorderK05MH076273 · NIMH · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI LECKMAN, JAMES F · 2006 to 2010
$642k
NIMH NIH HHS K05 MH-076273NIMH NIH HHS K05 MH076273NIMH NIH HHS K23 MH091240NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH018268
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveOCD is a clinically heterogeneous condition. This heterogeneity has the potential to reduce power in genetic, neuroimaging, and clinical trials. Despite a mounting number of studies, there remains debate regarding the exact factor structure of OCD symptoms. The authors conducted a meta-analysis to determine the factor structure of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Symptom Checklist.

methodStudies were included if they involved subjects with OCD and included an exploratory factor analysis of the 13 Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Symptom Checklist categories or the items therein. A varimax-rotation was conducted in SAS 9.1 using the PROC FACTOR CORR to extract factors from sample-size weighted co-occurrence matrices. Stratified meta-analysis was conducted to determine the factor structure of OCD in studies involving children and adults separately.

resultsTwenty-one studies involving 5,124 participants were included. The four factors generated were 1) symmetry: symmetry obsessions and repeating, ordering, and counting compulsions; 2) forbidden thoughts: aggression, sexual, religious, and somatic obsessions and checking compulsions, 3) cleaning: cleaning and contamination, and 4) hoarding: hoarding obsessions and compulsions. Factor analysis of studies including adults yielded an identical factor structure compared to the overall meta-analysis. Factor analysis of child-only studies differed in that checking loaded highest on the symmetry factor and somatic obsessions, on the cleaning factor.

conclusionsA four-factor structure explained a large proportion of the heterogeneity in the clinical symptoms of OCD. Further item-level factor analyses are needed to determine the appropriate placement of miscellaneous somatic and checking OCD symptoms.

Indexed as

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental DisordersFactor Analysis, StatisticalHumansInternational Classification of DiseasesObsessive-Compulsive DisorderSeverity of Illness IndexSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID18923068
PMCPMC3972003

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.