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The first aim of this study was to explore whether children with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and subclinical autistic traits can be differentiated from children with OCD without these traits based on clinical OCD-related characteristics, distinct OCD symptom patterns, and type of comorbidity. The second aim was to investigate whether autistic traits predict immediate and long-term outcome of exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in pediatric OCD.The participants in this study were a total of 257 children and adolescents aged 7–17 years, recruited from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden as a part of the Nordic long-term OCD treatment study (NordLOTS). Inclusion criteria were an OCD diagnosis based on DSM-IV criteria and a Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) total severity score of 16 or higher. No children with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum were included. An Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) cut-off score of ≥ 17 was used to define the group of OCD patients with autistic traits and all participants were treated with 14 weekly sessions of manualized CBT.Comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and tic disorders, subclinical internalizing and externalizing symptoms, lower insight into OCD symptoms, more indecisiveness and pervasive slowness, and ordering/arranging OCD symptoms were found to be significantly associated with having OCD with autistic traits. No difference was found between the groups on treatment outcomes.Results suggest that children and adolescents with OCD and autistic traits portray a different clinical profile than those without these traits, but that CBT is equally effective for those with and without autistic traits.

ObjectivesThe present study aimed to: 1) identify possible latent class trajectories of OCD-related functional impairment over 3 years after stepped-care treatment in children and adolescents with OCD; 2) describe these classes according to pretreatment characteristics; and 3) identify predictors of trajectory class membership.MethodsThe sample consisted of 246 children and adolescents (aged 7-17 years) with OCD participating in the Nordic long-term OCD treatment study (NordLOTS). Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was conducted using Children’s Obsessive-Compulsive Impact Scale-Revised (COIS-R) data from children and parents on 7 points of assessment: pretreatment, week 7, week 14, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, and 36-month follow-up.ResultsFor both the parent and child versions of the COIS-R, a 5-cluster quadratic solution had the best fit as determined by the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). For children and parents, the 2 largest clusters were comprised of participants who steadily declined in their levels of functional impairment throughout treatment and follow-up but had different levels of severity at baseline. For both parents and children, the 3 smaller clusters were comprised of participants who showed no or limited improvement in functional impairment as well as a class that improved initially and then relapsed during follow-up. Higher levels of contamination and cleaning symptoms, somatic and illness symptoms, and comorbid ADHD predicted membership for the nonresponse and relapse clusters.ConclusionsMost children and adolescents undergoing stepped-care treatment for OCD show improvements in functional impairment continuously throughout a 3-year follow-up period. However, distinct subgroups do not respond to treatment or relapse after treatment. These subgroups can be distinguished by symptom and comorbidity profiles.

The present study aimed to: (a) identify latent class trajectories of OCD-related functional impairment, before, during and over three years after stepped-care treatment in children and adolescents with OCD; (b) describe these classes according to pretreatment characteristics; (c) identify predictors of trajectory class membership and (d) examine the relationship of functional impairment trajectory classes with OCD symptom severity trajectory classes. The sample consisted of 266 children and adolescents (aged 7–17 years) with OCD, participating in the Nordic long-term OCD treatment study. Latent class growth analysis was conducted using Child Obsessive-Compulsive Impact Scale-Revised (COIS-R) data from children and parents on seven assessment points over a three-year period. A 3-class solution was identified. The largest class (70.7%) initiated treatment with lower functional impairment and obtained moderate reduction which was maintained over time. The second class (24.4%) initiated with higher functional impairment which rapidly diminished over time. The third and smallest class (4.9%), initiated with moderate functional impairment which remained stable over time. The classes differed on measures of OCD severity and comorbid symptoms. Most participants improved with treatment and maintained low levels of impairment. However, a subgroup distinguished by higher levels of ADHD symptoms, remained at pretreatment levels of impairment throughout.

The present study aimed to investigate the long-term quality of life (QoL) in a large sample of pediatric obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. The study included 220 pediatric OCD patients from the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS) who were evaluated at seven time points before, during, and after stepped-care treatment over a 3-year follow-up period. Data from three symptom severity trajectory classes formed the basis of the QoL evaluation: acute (n = 127, N = 147), slow (n = 46, N = 63), and limited responders (n = 47, N = 59). Patients’ QoL was assessed using parent and child ratings of the revised Questionnaire for Measuring Health-related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents (KINDL-R). QoL was analyzed by trajectory class using a random mixed effects model. The association between pre-treatment factors and long-term QoL was investigated across classes in a multivariate model. Three years after treatment, the acute responder class had reached QoL levels from a general population, whereas the limited responder class had not. The slow responder class reached norm levels for the child-rated QoL only. Higher levels of co-occurring externalizing symptoms before treatment were associated with lower parent-rated QoL during follow-up, while adolescence and higher levels of co-occurring internalizing symptoms were associated with lower child-rated QoL during follow-up. For some patients, residual OCD symptoms in the years after treatment, even at levels below assumed clinical significance, are associated with compromised QoL. Co-occurring symptoms could be part of the explanation. Assessing QoL after OCD treatment, beyond the clinician-rated symptom severity, could detect patients in need of further treatment and/or assessment. Trial registry: Nordic Long-term Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com ; ISRCTN66385119.

Objective This study evaluated the long-term outcomes of a stepped care treatment for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and investigated whether response to first-step cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an important indicator of 3-year outcomes. Method This study is a part of the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS), in which 269 children and adolescents were treated with CBT. Nonresponders to CBT were randomized to extended treatment with continued CBT or pharmacotherapy with sertraline. Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) scores no higher than 15 and no higher than 10 were defined as treatment response and remission, respectively. Participants were assessed 2 and 3 years after first-step CBT. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze the outcomes. Results Intent-to-treat analyses showed a significant decrease in CY-BOCS total score from baseline (24.6) to 3-year follow-up (5.0; p = .001), with a mean decrease of 5.9 from after treatment to 3-year follow-up. Three years after treatment, 90% (n = 242) of participants were rated as responders and 73% were in clinical remission. The duration of treatment did not influence the symptom level at 3-year follow-up (p = .998) and no significant difference was found (p = .169) between the extended treatment conditions. Conclusion The results suggest that evidence-based treatment for pediatric OCD has long-term positive effects, whether a first step of manual-based CBT or extended treatment with CBT or sertraline. The improvements were maintained, and the symptoms decreased further during follow-up and were, after 3 years, similarly independent of treatment duration and form of extended treatment. Clinical trial registration information Nordic Long-term Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com; ISRCTN66385119.

It is unknown if long-term remission for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients is associated with post-treatment OCD symptom severity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if post-treatment symptom severity cut-offs can discriminate remitters from non-remitters in pediatric OCD patients during three years of follow-up. All participants (N = 269) from the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (Nor-dLOTS) undergoing stepped-care treatment were included. Patients were rated with the Clinical Global Impression - Severity Scale (CGI-S) one (n = 186), two (n = 167), and three years (n = 166) after first-line cognitive-behavioral therapy. Post-treatment symptom severity scores as well as percentage reductions during treatment evaluated with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) were analyzed using receiver operating characteristics according to the CGI-S remission scores (< 2) at follow-up. Post-treatment CY-BOCS severity scores acceptably discriminated remitters from non-remitters at one-year follow-up, but poorly for the two-and three-year follow-up. Severity percentage reduction during treatment did not discriminate remis-sion status acceptably at any follow-up point. Post-treatment OCD symptom severity status seems to have little discriminative value for long-term remission status in pediatric patients. Further research is warranted to detect post-treatment factors of prognostic value.

The presence of comorbid conditions associated with paediatric obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is reported to range from 50 to 80% and to have an impact on treatment outcome. Accurate identification of comorbid psychiatric disorders is necessary in order to provide personalised care. Reliable and valid diagnostic interviews are essential in the process of establishing the correct diagnoses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the convergent and divergent validity of four diagnose categories generated by the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children–Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). The diagnose categories were: anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The K-SADS-PL was applied in a clinical sample of youth aged 7–17 years (N = 269), who were participants in the Nordic long-term OCD-treatment study (NordLOTS). Youth and parents completed measures to evaluate symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD, and ODD. Convergent and divergent validity of K-SADS-PL anxiety diagnosis was supported based on both anxiety self- and parent-reports. Similarly, support was found for convergent and divergent validity of ADHD and ODD diagnoses. For depressive disorder, support for convergent validity was found based on the depression self-report. Support for divergent validity of depression was found based on both the depression self- and parent-reports. Results of the present study suggest that the K-SADS-PL generates valid diagnoses of comorbid anxiety disorders, depression disorders, ODD, and ADHD in children and adolescents with OCD.

Hoarding, common in pediatric obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), has specific clinical correlates and is associated with poor prognosis. However, there are few studies of hoarding in pediatric OCD. This study estimates the occurrence of hoarding symptoms in a sample of children and adolescents with OCD, investigating possible differences in demographic and clinical variables between pediatric OCD with and without hoarding symptoms. Furthermore, the study investigates whether hoarding symptoms predict poorer treatment outcomes after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The study sample comprised 269 children and adolescents with OCD, aged 7–17 years, from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, who were all included in the Nordic long-term obsessive–compulsive disorder Treatment Study. All had an OCD diagnosis according to the DSM-IV and were treated with 14 weekly sessions of manualized, exposure-based CBT. Hoarding symptoms and OCD severity were assessed with the Children’s Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale and group differences in treatment outcome were analyzed using linear mixed-effect modelling. Seventy-two patients (26.8%) had one or more symptoms of hoarding. Comorbid tic disorders (p = 0.005) and indecision (p = 0.024) were more prevalent among those with hoarding symptoms than those without hoarding symptoms. In addition, youth with hoarding symptoms had a different OCD symptom profile. Having symptoms of hoarding did not affect CBT outcome (p = 0.933). Results from the study suggest that CBT is equally effective for those with and without hoarding-related OCD.

Our aims were to examine: (1) classes of comorbid disorders in a sample of children and adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), (2) how these classes relate to obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions, and (3) the extent to which obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions predict Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) outcome. Participants (N = 269) were assessed with the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS-PL) and the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS). Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to identify comorbidity classes. Regression analyses were used to evaluate symptom dimensions as predictors of treatment outcome and their relation to comorbidity classes. Comorbidity was included in the treatment outcome analyses as it can affect outcome. Comorbidity was best categorized by a three-class model and each class was distinctively correlated with the OCD symptom dimensions. Higher scores on the symmetry/hoarding factor increased the chance of responding to CBT by an odds ratio of 1.56 (p = 0.020) when controlled for age, gender, and comorbidity class. The harm/sexual factor (p = 0.675) and contamination/cleaning factor (p = 0.122) did not predict CBT outcome. Three clinically relevant comorbidity subgroups in pediatric OCD were identified. Patients who exhibited higher levels of symmetry/hoarding dimension were more prone to respond to CBT.

The present study aimed to investigate the long-term quality of life (QoL) in a large sample of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. The study included 220 pediatric OCD patients from the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS) who were evaluated at seven time points before, during, and after stepped-care treatment over a 3-year follow-up period. Data from three symptom severity trajectory classes formed the basis of the QoL evaluation: acute (n = 127, N = 147), slow (n = 46, N = 63), and limited responders (n = 47, N = 59). Patients' QoL was assessed using parent and child ratings of the revised Questionnaire for Measuring Health-related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents (KINDL-R). QoL was analyzed by trajectory class using a random mixed effects model. The association between pre-treatment factors and long-term QoL was investigated across classes in a multivariate model. Three years after treatment, the acute responder class had reached QoL levels from a general population, whereas the limited responder class had not. The slow responder class reached norm levels for the child-rated QoL only. Higher levels of co-occurring externalizing symptoms before treatment were associated with lower parent-rated QoL during follow-up, while adolescence and higher levels of co-occurring internalizing symptoms were associated with lower child-rated QoL during follow-up. For some patients, residual OCD symptoms in the years after treatment, even at levels below assumed clinical significance, are associated with compromised QoL. Co-occurring symptoms could be part of the explanation. Assessing QoL after OCD treatment, beyond the clinician-rated symptom severity, could detect patients in need of further treatment and/or assessment. Trial registry: Nordic Long-term Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com ; ISRCTN66385119.

AIM: The aim of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of a Danish version of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire - Child Version (OBQ-CV). The OBQ-CV assesses dysfunctional beliefs concerning responsibility/threat estimation, perfectionism/uncertainty, and importance/control of thoughts, which according to cognitive theories are important in the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).METHODS: The study included a pediatric sample (age 7-17 years) consisting of 57 children and adolescents with OCD, 49 children and adolescents with an anxiety disorder (AD), and 58 typically developing (TD) children and adolescents without a psychiatric diagnosis. All participants completed the OBQ-CV and the Child Behavior Checklist - the School Age Scales (CBCL/6-18). The Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) was used to assess OCD symptom severity in the OCD group.RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses supported the three-factor structure and thereby the construct validity of the OBQ-CV. Gender was not associated with subscale scores, whereas age influenced the subscale scores differently in the three groups. Reliability analyses showed acceptable to excellent internal consistency and acceptable test-retest reliability of the instrument. There were significant differences between the OCD group and the TD group, supporting the criterion validity. Results on convergent validity were mixed.CONCLUSIONS: Overall, results supported the reliability and validity of the Danish OBQ-CV and thus the use of the questionnaire for future clinical and research purposes.

The knowledge of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and its treatment has advanced in the latest years and is summarised in this review. Child and adolescent OCD is a chronic condition, and if it is left untreated, it often continues into adulthood with debilitating effect on the quality of life. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is the recommended first-line treatment for children and adolescents, and continued CBT or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment can be effectively given to non-responders to initial CBT. There is also emerging evidence supporting the long-term effect of CBT in this group of patients, and new variations of CBT are being investigated.

Objective Standard assessment of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients includes ratings of insight, avoidance, indecisiveness, sense of responsibility, pervasive slowness, pathological doubting, and obsession-free intervals. The present study aims to identify pre-treatment associations of these clinical features to symptom severity and symptom dimensions as well as to describe and analyze the long-term levels and distribution in different treatment responder groups. Method: Severity ratings as well as clinical feature ratings were evaluated in 268 pediatric OCD patients using the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) at seven time points before, during, and up to three years after first-line cognitive-behavioral therapy. The CY-BOCS auxiliary items were evaluated on the basis of three symptom severity trajectory classes: acute, slow, and limited responders. Results: Insight, avoidance, pervasive slowness, and obsession-free intervals were positively associated with pre-treatment symptom severity. Symptom dimensions were associated with different auxiliary items. At three-year follow-up, the limited responder class had higher scores than the acute and slow responder classes on all items except for responsibility. Conclusion: The CY-BOCS auxiliary items are closely related to symptom dimensions and partly to symptom severity. The features appear to be dynamic concepts prone to change, yet, less so in patients showing limited long-term treatment response.

Objective The purpose of the Nordic Long-Term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS) was toexamine the acute effectiveness of manualizedexposure-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) asan initial treatment for pediatric Obsessive-CompulsiveDisorder (OCD). Also, to investigate the effectivenessof sertraline (SRT) versus continued CBT in childrenand adolescents who did not respond to the initial courseof CBT. Finally, to describe the 1-year treatmentoutcome of the initial CBT responders. Method Thestudy included 269 participants, age 7-17, diagnosedwith OCD according to DSM-IV. In step I, all receivedCBT for 14 weekly sessions. In step II, 54 nonrespondersto CBT were randomized to SRT orcontinued CBT for 16 weeks. Treatment response wasin all cases defined as a Children’s Yale-BrownObsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) score of =15at post treatment. The 177 responders to CBT from stepI were assessed with the CY-BOCS at 6- and 12-monthfollow-up. Results In step I, 241 participants (89.6%)completed all 14 weeks of treatment with a treatmentresponse of 72.6% (95% CI: 66.7%-77.9%) and a meansymptom reduction on the CY-BOCS of 52.9% (SD =30.9). In step II, 21 of 28 participants (75 %) completedcontinued CBT, and 15 of 22 participants (69.2 %)completed SRT treatment. The response rate was 50.0 %in the CBT group and 45.4 % in the SRT group.Comparison of the CY-BOCS total score did not reveala significant difference between the treatment types (p =0.351). At 1-year follow-up of step I CBT responders(n=177), a total of 155 (87.6%) were available forassessment, with 142 (91.6%) still rated as responders.On average, the CY-BOCS total scores dropped by 1.72points during the first year after terminating step I CBT(p = 0.001). Conclusion This study found that CBT canbe applied effectively in community mental healthclinics and that that CBT non-responders are equallylikely to benefit from either continued CBT or treatmentwith SSRI. CBT for pediatric OCD is shown to havedurable effects for those who respond to an initial courseof CBT.

The literature on subclinical autism spectrum (ASD) symptoms in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is scarce, and it remains unclear whether ASD symptoms are related to OCD severity. The aims of the present study were to assess the prevalence of ASD symptoms and age and sex differences in children and adolescents with OCD, and to explore the relation between ASD symptoms and OCD severity. This is the largest study of ASD symptoms in an OCD population to date, and the first directly aimed at elucidating sex and age differences in this matter. The study used baseline data from the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study in which parents of 257 children and adolescents with OCD aged 7-17 completed the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire. OCD severity was assessed with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Pediatric OCD patients were found to exhibit elevated rates of ASD symptoms compared to a norm group of school-age children. ASD symptoms were concentrated in a subgroup with a prevalence of 10-17 %. This subgroup was characterized by a male preponderance with a sex ratio of approximately 2.6:1, while children versus adolescents with OCD exhibited similar rates. Autism-specific social and communication difficulties were not related to OCD severity, while restricted repetitive behavior was positively related to OCD severity. The results indicate that clinicians need to be aware of ASD symptoms in children and adolescents with OCD since one out of ten exhibits such symptoms at a clinical sub-threshold.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effectiveness of manualized exposure-based CBT with a family-based treatment, as an initial treatment for pediatric OCD delivered in regular community child and adolescents outpatient clinics. The report summarizes outcome of the first treatment step in the NordLOTS, which was conducted in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.METHOD: 269 participants, age 7-17, with OCD, received treatment for 14 weekly sessions. Treatment response was defined as CY-BOCS score of ≤15 at post treatment.RESULTS: 241 participants (89.6%) completed all 14 weeks of treatment. Treatment response among the completers was 72.6% (95% CI 66.7%-77.9%). Mixed effects model revealed a statistically significant effect of time F(1,479) = 130.434. Mean symptom reduction on the CY-BOCS was 52.9% (SD = 30.9). The estimated within-group effect size between baseline and post treatment was 1.58 (95% CI: 1.37-1.80).CONCLUSION: This study found that manualized CBT can be applied effectively in community mental health clinics. These findings underscore the feasibility of implementing exposure-based CBT for pediatric OCD in a regular child and adolescent mental health setting.CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION INFORMATION: This study was registered in Current Controlled Trials; Nordic Long-term Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) Treatment Study (www.controlled-trials.com ISRCTN66385119).

Aspects of executive functioning (EF) have been put forward as endophenotypes in obsessive- compulsive disorder (OCD) and meta-analyses support EF underperformance in adult samples. Childhood-onset OCD has been suggested to constitute a separate neurodevelopmental subtype of the disorder but studies on neuropsychological functioning in childhood OCD are limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate performance-based EF in pediatric OCD using observed and latent variable analyses. A case-control design was applied including 50 unmedicated children and adolescents with OCD aged 7–17 years of which 70% were female, 50 pairwise age and gender matched non-psychiatric controls (NP) and 38 children and adolescents with mixed anxiety disorders (MA). Participants underwent structured diagnostic interviews and assessment with a battery encompassing cool EF tasks of working memory, set shifting, inhibition, and planning, and hot EF tasks of decision making and dot probe paradigm affective interference. First, groups were compared on observed variables with multilevel mixed-effects linear regression and analysis of variance. Then the latent structure of cool EF was tested with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and groups were compared on the CFA scores. No significant differences between groups appeared on individual cool EF tasks. On the hot EF tasks the OCD group displayed significant interference effects on the dot probe paradigm OCD-specific stimuli relative to NP, but not compared to MA and no group differences emerged for decision making. In the CFA a one-factor solution showed best fit, but the groups did not differ significantly on the resulting latent variable. The present study does not support cool or hot EF impairments in childhood OCD.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered first-line treatment for childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Despite CBT's efficacy, too many children and adolescents do not fully respond to treatment, making the identification of predictors of treatment response highly relevant. Executive functions (EF) have been suggested to constitute such predictors, but studies with pediatric samples are scarce. In the present study, we investigated latent level EF test performance and ratings of daily life EF behavior as predictors of CBT response in pediatric OCD. We further examined the stability of EF from pre-to post-treatment and the association of EF changes with OCD severity change. EF test performance significantly predicted exposure-based CBT outcome. Patients with better EF test performance had significantly elevated risk of non-response relative to patients with poorer performance. Daily life EF behavior in OCD probands improved after treatment relative to controls. The findings suggest that EF performance impacts CBT outcome, and that exposure-based CBT is well-suited for children and adolescents with OCD and poorer EF test performance. This study supports the relevance of EF in CBT for childhood OCD and denotes a possible need for development of enhanced treatments for children and adolescents with OCD and superior EF performance.

Objective This study describes 1-year treatment outcomes from a large sample of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) responders, investigates age as a possible moderator of these treatment outcomes, and evaluates clinical relapse at the 1-year follow-up. Method This study is the planned follow-up to the Nordic Long-term OCD [obsessive-compulsive disorder] Treatment Study (NordLOTS), which included 177 children and adolescents who were rated as treatment responders following CBT for OCD. Participants were assessed with the Children’s Yale−Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Treatment response and remission were defined as CY-BOCS total scores ≤15 and ≤10, respectively. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze all outcomes. Results At 1 year, a total of 155 children and adolescents (87.6%) were available for follow-up assessment, with 142 of these (91.6%) rated below a total score of ≤15 on the CY-BOCS. At 1-year follow-up, 121 (78.1%) were in remission. On average, CY-BOCS total scores dropped by 1.72 points during the first year after terminating treatment (p = .001). A total of 28 participants (15.8%) relapsed (CY-BOCS ≥ 16) at either the 6- or 12-month assessment; only 2 patients required additional CBT. Conclusion Results suggest that manualized CBT in a community setting for pediatric OCD has durable effects for those who respond to an initial course of treatment; children and adolescents who respond to such treatment can be expected to maintain their treatment gains for at least 1 year following acute care. Clinical trial registration information– Nordic Long-term Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com ; ISRCTN66385119.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often becomes manifest in childhood. It has been suggested that the symptom heterogeneity of the disorder could mask subgroups associated with executive function (EF) impairment. Though supported in adult studies, this is scarcely investigated in children. The aims of the present study were to: (i) investigate OCD symptom subgroups using an empirically supported and age-appropriate definition of symptom dimensions (SD) as well as latent profile analysis (LPA); (ii) compare the identified subgroups with respect to EFs, demographic, and clinical descriptives; and (iii) explore the associations between SDs and EFs. The study included 50 pediatric OCD patients and 50 matched controls. Patients were assessed with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale from which three SD factor scores were generated. Participants were assessed with EF tasks from which latent variables measuring working memory, set shifting and response inhibition were derived. Parents rated executive function behaviors in their children. Three subgroups were identified, each predominantly characterized by one of the SDs. Subgroups differed with respect to parent-rated working memory and several demographic and basic clinical characteristics. The findings suggest the presence of clinically relevant child and adolescent OCD SD subgroups, but do not support the relevance of EFs in distinguishing SDs.

Some studies have shown that children and adolescents with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and co-morbid tics differ from those without co-morbid tics in terms of several demographic and clinical characteristics. However, not all studies have confirmed these differences. This study examined children and adolescents with OCD and with possible or definite tic specifiers according to the DSM-5 in order to see whether they differ from patients without any tic symptoms regarding clinical presentation and outcome of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The full sample included 269 patients (aged 7–17) with primary DSM-IV OCD who had participated in the Nordic Long-term Treatment Study (NordLOTS). Symptoms of tics were assessed using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS-PL). One or more tic symptoms were found in 29.9% of participants. Those with OCD and co-morbid tic symptoms were more likely male, more likely to have onset of OCD at an earlier age, and differed in terms of OCD symptom presentation. More specifically, such participants also showed more symptoms of OCD-related impairment, externalization, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), social anxiety, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the two groups showed no difference in terms of OCD severity or outcome of CBT. Children and adolescents with OCD and co-morbid tic symptoms differ from those without tic symptoms in several aspects of clinical presentation, but not in their response to CBT. Our results underscore the effectiveness of CBT for tic-related OCD. Clinical trials registration: Nordic Long-term Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com ; ISRCTN66385119.

Objectives: To investigate OCD symptom structurein children and adolescents in order to identify OCDsubtypes.A few studies have tried to identify symptom basedsubtypes of OCD in Children and Adolescents, andfound it to contain 4-5 factors. There are severalreasons for the different number of factors foundsuch as different methods and limited sample sizes.Therefore, this study based on a large sample will bea valuable addition to the previous studies.Methods: Exploratory factor analysis will be appliedto the Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive-CompulsiveScale (CY-BOCS) symptom checklist items in orderto reveal any latent factor structure. The relationbetween specific factors and co-morbid disorders willbe examined. Data for 696 children and adolescentswith OCD is already collected and the final sample isexpected to be around 850 subjects, collected from24 different research units in Europe and USA. Thisstudy is a part of the Nordic Long-Term OCDTreatment Study (NordLOTS).Results: Work in progress. Preliminary results will beavailable at the time of presentation.Discussion: Our study is unique in that it includesindividual CY-BOCS checklist items and it is thuspossible that our results will refine or go beyond the“classical” factors in the original publication. Theimportance of our findings for studies on OCDgenetics and pathogenesis of symptoms will bediscussed.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes and discusses the methodology of the Nordic long-term OCD-treatment study (NordLOTS). The purpose of this effectiveness study was to study treatment outcome of CBT, to identify CBT non- or partial responders and to investigate whether an increased number of CBT-sessions or sertraline treatment gives the best outcome; to identify treatment refractory patients and to investigate the outcome of aripiprazole augmentation; to study the outcome over a three year period for each responder including the risk of relapse, and finally to study predictors, moderators and mediators of treatment response. METHODS: Step 1 was an open and uncontrolled clinical trial with CBT, step 2 was a controlled, randomised non-blinded study of CBT non-responders from step 1. Patients were randomized to receive either sertraline plus CBT-support or continued and modified CBT. In step 3 patients who did not respond to either CBT or sertraline were treated with aripiprazole augmentation to sertraline. CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter trial covering three Scandinavian countries is going to be the largest CBT-study for paediatric OCD to date. It is not funded by industry and tries in the short and long-term to answer the question whether further CBT or SSRI is better in CBT non-responders. © 2013 Thomsen et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

Health anxiety (HA) is an overlooked area in paediatric research. Little is known about the occurrence of HA symptoms in a child and adolescent psychiatric setting, and there are no age-appropriate diagnostic criteria and only limited number of assessment tools. It is therefore likely that HA is seen as part of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) due to construct overlap and the diagnostic uncertainty of HA in this age group. In the present study, the extent of HA symptoms was investigated in 94 children and adolescents with a primary ICD-10 diagnosis of OCD. Self-reported HA symptoms were assessed using the Childhood Illness Attitude Scales. Clinician-rated OCD symptoms and severity were measured using the Children's Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Information on socio-demographics was obtained from the child's/adolescent's medical record. The distribution of HA symptoms resembled a normal curve shifted to the right compared with a normal population of Danish children, and 30 % presented with high HA symptoms. Chi-squared tests were used to examine the proportion of children and adolescents with high HA symptoms in relation to various clinical characteristics. Clinician-rated illness worries and comorbid anxiety disorder were associated with high self-reported HA symptoms. The results contribute to the understanding of how HA and OCD overlap conceptually in young patients and bring attention to the need for improved recognition of OCD patients dominated by illness worries. Further research in the description of childhood HA is important in order to understand whether HA is a distinct disorder early in life.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects between 0.25% and 4% of children and adolescents.Around 40% of youth with OCD continue to meet criteria for OCD well into adulthood. Cognitive behavioraltherapy (CBT) is the recommended first line treatment for pediatric OCD. Consistent with the available followupresearch on pediatric OCD, we expected treatment effects, for initial treatment responders, to lastthroughout the first year following acute treatment. Methods: This prospective follow-up study was a part ofthe Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS) in which 177 responders to 14 weeks of manualizedCBT in an open trial program were assessed six and twelve months after treatment termination. Treatmentresponse was defined as a Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) total score < 16, andremission was defined as a CY-BOCS total score ≤10. Results: At one-year follow-up 155 (87.6%) of the originalsample were available for assessment and 142 (91.6%) were still rated as responders. Of these 121 (78.1%)were in remission. Mixed effects analysis revealed that patients continued to show symptom reduction overthe one year follow-up period (F[2, 313.15] = 11.230, p < 0.001). Twenty-eight patients relapsed (CY-BOCS ≥16)during the one-year follow-up where of 11 returned to responder status by the 12-month assessment point.Conclusion: Results of this follow-up study suggest that manualized CBT applied in community settings hasdurable effects for initial responders to treatment, and that patients continue to improve during the first yearfollowing acute treatment. Clinical trials registration information: Nordic Long-term Obsessive-CompulsiveDisorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com; ISRCTN66385119.Long-Term Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) and Sertraline