Co-occurrence of Sensory Overresponsivity with Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Childhood and Early Adolescence.
Carol A Van Hulle, Karyn Esbensen, H Hill Goldsmith
PMID 31107361WHAT IT FOUND
Sensory overresponsivity was linked to OCD symptoms at the same age, not to later OCD symptoms.
Tactile and auditory symptoms were associated with concurrent OCD symptoms at ages 8 and 13.
Key findings
01At age 8, higher parent-reported tactile and auditory sensory overresponsivity was associated with concurrent OCD symptom presence.
02At age 13, higher adolescent self-reported tactile and auditory sensory overresponsivity was associated with concurrent OCD symptom presence.
03Childhood sensory overresponsivity did not predict later OCD symptoms, and childhood OCD symptoms did not predict later sensory overresponsivity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Very few children met criteria for an OCD diagnosis, so the study used symptom counts instead of diagnoses. The DISC-IV was designed as a diagnostic screening tool, so it may not robustly identify specific OCD symptoms. The sensory measure changed from parent report at age 8 to adolescent self-report at age 13. This change weakens inference about which came first. Parent-reported sensory symptoms at age 8 were not significantly correlated with adolescent-reported sensory symptoms at age 13. The sample was largely white and broadly middle class, so findings may not generalize to other populations. The study could not examine other sensory modalities or OCD symptom subtypes.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The supplied publication types indicate NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the concurrent association as evidence that sensory overresponsivity causes later OCD symptoms. The longitudinal analyses found that age 8 sensory overresponsivity did not predict age 13 OCD symptoms.