Epidemiology of Phobic and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders among Adults

Phobic and obsessive-compulsive disorders have long been believed to be infrequent in the general population and among persons in treatment. The most recent large-scale multicentered epidemiological study sponsored by NIMH shows startingly different results. Obsessive-compulsive disorders have a life prevalence of 1.9 to 3 percent and a six-month prevalence rate of 1.3 to 2 percent, rates admittedly low but higher than previously thought. Phobic disorders, however, have a life prevalence rate of 7.8 to 23.3 percent and a prevalence rate of 5.4 to 13.4 percent, placing them as the first leading diagnosis. This article also reviews what is known about risk factors and associated pathology.