Anxiety, OCD, How common is OCD, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Holisticonline.com

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

How Common Is OCD?

	About 2% of the U.S. population has OCD in a given year.
	OCD typically begins during adolescence or early childhood; at least one-third of the cases of adult OCD began in childhood.
	OCD affects men and women equally.
	OCD cost the U.S. $8.4 billion in 1990 in social and economic losses, nearly 6% of the total mental health bill of $148 billion.

OCD strikes men and women in approximately equal numbers and afflicts roughly 1 in 50 people. It can appear in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, but on the average it first shows up in the teens or early adulthood. A third of adults with OCD experienced their first symptoms as children. The course of the disease is variable-symptoms may come and go, they may ease over time, or they can grow progressively worse. Evidence suggests that OCD might run in families.

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