Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: a systematic review and modelling study: Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Yi Deun Jeong; Dong Keon Yon; Samuele  Cortese; Paolo Fusar-Poli; Marco Solmi

Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: a systematic review and modelling study: Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Yi Deun Jeong
, Dong Keon Yon^*
, Samuele Cortese
, Paolo Fusar-Poli
, Marco Solmi

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Family Medicine, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee 12 University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
KyungHee University College of Medicine
Kyung Hee University Hospital
Kyung Hee University
Department of Precision Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
European Gravitational Observatory (EGO)
University of Southampton
Solent NHS Trust
University of Nottingham
Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone
Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, UK
DiMePRe-J-Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine-Jonic Area, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
OASIS service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Institute for Radiology, CCM
University of Ottawa
The Ottawa Hospital
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

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Abstract

Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the common mental disorders globally. However, there are limited studies on the prevalence of OCD and four other disorders (hoarding disorder [HD], excoriation disorder [ED], body dysmorphic disorder [BDD], and trichotillomania) categorized under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs). Therefore, this study aimed to fill the epidemiological gap in the current literature.
Methods: We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar from inception to June 8, 2025. Studies representative of national or subnational general populations, with diagnoses based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD‐10) criteria, were included. A Bayesian hierarchical linear mixed model was used to estimate the lifetime prevalence of OCD at the global, regional, and national levels, with estimates reported with 95% credible intervals. We examined the association between OCD prevalence and the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), and estimated age-specific point prevalence of OCD. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD420251070461).
Results: A total of 112 studies reporting OCRD prevalence rates were included. The global lifetime Bayesian prevalence of OCD across all ages was estimated at 2.57% according to ICD-10 criteria, 3.10% according to DSM-III, 2.28% according to DSM-IV, and 2.82% according to DSM-5. Lifetime prevalence of OCD was negatively correlated with the SDI, indicating lower prevalence estimates in countries with higher SDI. The age-specific prevalence of OCD increased sharply in the teenage years and peaked in the late 20s to early 30s. Point prevalence ranged across studies from 0.98% to 5.81% for HD, from 2.33% to 7.68% for ED, from 0.44% to 15.21% for BDD, and from 0.0% to 2.12% for trichotillomania.
Conclusions: This study estimated the global prevalence of OCD according to diagnostic criteria, underscoring the role of diagnostic definitions in shaping epidemiological understanding.

Original language	English
Journal	The American Journal of Psychiatry
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 3 Jun 2026

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@article{1a3f8a6bddda4f2c9f04995be1169469,

title = "Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: a systematic review and modelling study: Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder",

abstract = "Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the common mental disorders globally. However, there are limited studies on the prevalence of OCD and four other disorders (hoarding disorder [HD], excoriation disorder [ED], body dysmorphic disorder [BDD], and trichotillomania) categorized under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs). Therefore, this study aimed to fill the epidemiological gap in the current literature. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar from inception to June 8, 2025. Studies representative of national or subnational general populations, with diagnoses based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD‐10) criteria, were included. A Bayesian hierarchical linear mixed model was used to estimate the lifetime prevalence of OCD at the global, regional, and national levels, with estimates reported with 95\% credible intervals. We examined the association between OCD prevalence and the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), and estimated age-specific point prevalence of OCD. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD420251070461). Results: A total of 112 studies reporting OCRD prevalence rates were included. The global lifetime Bayesian prevalence of OCD across all ages was estimated at 2.57\% according to ICD-10 criteria, 3.10\% according to DSM-III, 2.28\% according to DSM-IV, and 2.82\% according to DSM-5. Lifetime prevalence of OCD was negatively correlated with the SDI, indicating lower prevalence estimates in countries with higher SDI. The age-specific prevalence of OCD increased sharply in the teenage years and peaked in the late 20s to early 30s. Point prevalence ranged across studies from 0.98\% to 5.81\% for HD, from 2.33\% to 7.68\% for ED, from 0.44\% to 15.21\% for BDD, and from 0.0\% to 2.12\% for trichotillomania. Conclusions: This study estimated the global prevalence of OCD according to diagnostic criteria, underscoring the role of diagnostic definitions in shaping epidemiological understanding. ",

author = "Jeong, \{Yi Deun\} and Yon, \{Dong Keon\} and Samuele Cortese and Paolo Fusar-Poli and Marco Solmi",

year = "2026",

month = jun,

day = "3",

language = "English",

journal = "The American Journal of Psychiatry",

issn = "0002-953X",

publisher = "American Psychiatric Association",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: a systematic review and modelling study

T2 - Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder

AU - Jeong, Yi Deun

AU - Yon, Dong Keon

AU - Cortese, Samuele

AU - Fusar-Poli, Paolo

AU - Solmi, Marco

PY - 2026/6/3

Y1 - 2026/6/3

N2 - Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the common mental disorders globally. However, there are limited studies on the prevalence of OCD and four other disorders (hoarding disorder [HD], excoriation disorder [ED], body dysmorphic disorder [BDD], and trichotillomania) categorized under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs). Therefore, this study aimed to fill the epidemiological gap in the current literature. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar from inception to June 8, 2025. Studies representative of national or subnational general populations, with diagnoses based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD‐10) criteria, were included. A Bayesian hierarchical linear mixed model was used to estimate the lifetime prevalence of OCD at the global, regional, and national levels, with estimates reported with 95% credible intervals. We examined the association between OCD prevalence and the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), and estimated age-specific point prevalence of OCD. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD420251070461). Results: A total of 112 studies reporting OCRD prevalence rates were included. The global lifetime Bayesian prevalence of OCD across all ages was estimated at 2.57% according to ICD-10 criteria, 3.10% according to DSM-III, 2.28% according to DSM-IV, and 2.82% according to DSM-5. Lifetime prevalence of OCD was negatively correlated with the SDI, indicating lower prevalence estimates in countries with higher SDI. The age-specific prevalence of OCD increased sharply in the teenage years and peaked in the late 20s to early 30s. Point prevalence ranged across studies from 0.98% to 5.81% for HD, from 2.33% to 7.68% for ED, from 0.44% to 15.21% for BDD, and from 0.0% to 2.12% for trichotillomania. Conclusions: This study estimated the global prevalence of OCD according to diagnostic criteria, underscoring the role of diagnostic definitions in shaping epidemiological understanding.

AB - Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the common mental disorders globally. However, there are limited studies on the prevalence of OCD and four other disorders (hoarding disorder [HD], excoriation disorder [ED], body dysmorphic disorder [BDD], and trichotillomania) categorized under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs). Therefore, this study aimed to fill the epidemiological gap in the current literature. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar from inception to June 8, 2025. Studies representative of national or subnational general populations, with diagnoses based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD‐10) criteria, were included. A Bayesian hierarchical linear mixed model was used to estimate the lifetime prevalence of OCD at the global, regional, and national levels, with estimates reported with 95% credible intervals. We examined the association between OCD prevalence and the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), and estimated age-specific point prevalence of OCD. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD420251070461). Results: A total of 112 studies reporting OCRD prevalence rates were included. The global lifetime Bayesian prevalence of OCD across all ages was estimated at 2.57% according to ICD-10 criteria, 3.10% according to DSM-III, 2.28% according to DSM-IV, and 2.82% according to DSM-5. Lifetime prevalence of OCD was negatively correlated with the SDI, indicating lower prevalence estimates in countries with higher SDI. The age-specific prevalence of OCD increased sharply in the teenage years and peaked in the late 20s to early 30s. Point prevalence ranged across studies from 0.98% to 5.81% for HD, from 2.33% to 7.68% for ED, from 0.44% to 15.21% for BDD, and from 0.0% to 2.12% for trichotillomania. Conclusions: This study estimated the global prevalence of OCD according to diagnostic criteria, underscoring the role of diagnostic definitions in shaping epidemiological understanding.

M3 - Review article

SN - 0002-953X

JO - The American Journal of Psychiatry

JF - The American Journal of Psychiatry

ER -

Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: a systematic review and modelling study: Global prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder

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