Symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Toward quantitative phenotypes

Abstract

The authors review evidence of symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and their potential value as quantitative phenotypes in genetic studies of OCD and related conditions. Preliminary evidence supports the existence of four separate symptom dimensions. A small series of clinical and family genetic studies support the validity of one or more of these dimensions. However, critical data concerning the distribution of these dimensions in the general population are lacking, and the hereditability of these traits has yet to be established.