Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Key points
- These individuals are perfectionists who require a great deal of order and control.
- The estimated prevalence is 1 % in the general population.
- The etiology is unknown, but there may be an association with mood and anxiety disorders.
- History and Mental Status Examination Individuals with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder are perfectionists.
These individuals are perfectionists who require a great deal of order and control.
Epidemiology
The estimated prevalence is 1 % in the general population. Men are diagnosed with obsessive- compulsive personality disorder twice as frequently as women.
Etiology
The etiology is unknown, but there may be an association with mood and anxiety disorders.
Clinical Manifestations
History and Mental Status Examination
Individuals with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder are perfectionists. They require order and control in every dimension of their lives. Their attention to minutiae frequently impairs their ability to finish what they start or to maintain sight of their goals. They are cold and rigid in relationships and make frequent moral judgments; devotion to work often replaces intimacy. They are serious and plodding; even recreation becomes a sober task
Differential Diagnosis
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder can be differentiated from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) based on symptom severity.
Written and revised by
David Cohen, M.D.
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