National estimates of exposure to potentially traumatic events among individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder: Findings from The National OCD Survey.

Authors

Caitlin M Pinciotti, Katherine L Foshee, Eric A Storch

Published in

Psychiatry research. Volume 364. Pages 117280. Jun 16, 2026. Epub Jun 16, 2026.

Abstract

Epidemiological research suggests that most individuals in the U.S. will be exposed to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) at some point in their lifetime. Despite this, published rates of PTE exposure among individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) vary widely, ranging from 34-82%. Thus, presently available PTE estimates are too wide to be clinically informative and are incongruent with general population estimates, where the rate of PTE exposure would be expected to be comparable if not higher. Using data from The National OCD Survey, a large geographically representative study of adults with OCD across the U.S., demographically weighted PTE estimates were computed in a sample of 2808 participants with OCD (M age = 33.6 years). PTE rates were notably higher than previously reported in OCD research and better aligned with general population estimates. Nearly all participants endorsed at least one PTE (97.9%), including, most commonly, transportation accidents, sexual assault, physical assault, natural disaster, and life-threatening illness or injury. The present study is the first to provide robust PTE estimates among individuals with OCD, supporting the frequency of these experiences and highlighting the need for adequate assessment of trauma in clinical practice.

PMID:
42385289
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Jul 2026.

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