Cohort Study of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

September 10, 2026 updated by: Qing ZHAO, Shanghai Mental Health Center
This study will establish a standardized, multi-dimensional prospective longitudinal cohort for obsessive-compulsive disorder. It seeks to explore differences in symptom trajectories, functional trajectories, treatment responses, and long-term outcomes among different OCD clinical subgroups. Additionally, it will examine whether multi-modal measures (including clinical features, neuropsychological tests, neuroimaging, electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and blood and stool biospecimens) can explain clinical heterogeneity and predict treatment response and long-term prognosis.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
500

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants will be recruited from clinical outpatient and inpatient units at Shanghai Mental Health Center. The study population consists of adult patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder seeking routine clinical care. No investigator-assigned treatments are provided.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

【First-episode obsessive-compulsive disorder subgroup】

  • Aged 18-60 years, no restriction on sex;
  • Meets DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder;
  • Junior high-school education or above; able to understand study-related information and complete questionnaires and examinations;
  • Has never received pharmacotherapy, psychological therapy or physical intervention for OCD;
  • Voluntarily participates in this study and provides written informed consent. 【Initial-treatment non-responder subgroup】
  • Aged 18-60 years, no restriction on sex;
  • Meets DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder;
  • Junior high-school education or above; able to understand study-related information and complete questionnaires and examinations;
  • Has shown poor treatment response or intolerance after adequate-dose and adequate-duration treatment with one SSRI/SNRI agent, OR after receiving 12 sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT);
  • Voluntarily participates in this study and provides written informed consent. 【Pharmacotherapy-resistant subgroup】
  • Aged 18-60 years, no restriction on sex;
  • Meets DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder;
  • Junior high-school education or above; able to understand study-related information and complete questionnaires and examinations;
  • Demonstrates poor treatment response or intolerance following adequate-dose and adequate-duration treatment with two or more different SSRI/SNRI agents;
  • Voluntarily participates in this study and provides written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Meets the diagnosis criteria in DSM-5 except for obsessive-compulsive disorder (excluding obsessive-compulsive personality disorder);
  • The obsessive symptoms are severe and prevent the patient from completing the required assessment tests;
  • Pregnant or women who are about to become pregnant, lactating women;
  • Have severe negative thoughts or a high risk of suicide;
  • Have a history of other substance dependence or excessive use in the past year; 6) Other situations deemed unsuitable for inclusion by the researchers.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Participants
This is a prospective, observational, longitudinal disease-specific cohort study for obsessive-compulsive disorder. This cohort contains first-episode obsessive-compulsive disorder, initial-treatment non-responders, and pharmacotherapy-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder.No additional research-based randomization will be performed, and no therapeutic interventions will be assigned by investigators. After completing baseline assessments, participants with obsessive-compulsive disorder will enter longitudinal follow-up. After the first-year follow-up, participants will be followed-up every six-months for a total follow-up duration of 5 years. Collected data encompass clinical information and rating scales, biospecimens (blood, stool), neuropsychological tests, MRI, electroencephalography, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), eye-movement tests, and magnetoencephalography. Participants are permitted to enroll in optional nested sub-studies.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) total score
Time Frame: Baseline, 8-week, 12-week, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month, every 6-months thereafter up to total 5-year follow-up
This scale was developed by Goodman et al. It is a widely used self-assessment tool for obsessive-compulsive symptoms both domestically and internationally, consisting of 10 items and 42 sub-items. The scale employs a 5-point rating system ranging from 0 to 4. The total score ranges from 0 to 40. The higher the score, the more severe the obsessive-compulsive symptoms. A total score of 8-15 indicates mild obsessive-compulsive symptoms, 16-25 indicates moderate symptoms, and a score above 25 indicates severe symptoms. Its Chinese version was introduced and validated for reliability and validity by our research group, and has been extensively adopted in both clinical practice and research settings. In the present study, Y-BOCS scores will be applied for participant screening at enrollment, and will also serve as an assessment tool for symptom severity during follow-up visits.
Baseline, 8-week, 12-week, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month, every 6-months thereafter up to total 5-year follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) total score
Time Frame: Baseline, 8-week, 12-week, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month, every 6-months thereafter up to total 5-year follow-up
This scale was revised by Beck et al. and is a self-assessment tool used to evaluate the degree of depression. It consists of 21 items and is used to assess the severity of depressive symptoms. This scale uses a four-point rating system from 0 to 3. The total score ranges from 0 to 13 indicating no depression, 14 to 19 indicating mild depression, 20 to 28 indicating moderate depression, and 29 to 63 indicating severe depression.
Baseline, 8-week, 12-week, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month, every 6-months thereafter up to total 5-year follow-up
Change from baseline in Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) total score
Time Frame: Baseline, 8-week, 12-week, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month, every 6-months thereafter up to total 5-year follow-up
This scale was developed by Beck et al. It consists of 21 items, each of which is rated on a scale of 0 to 3, representing four levels. It is a self-assessment tool for evaluating anxiety symptoms. The total score is the sum of all items, with a score range of 0 to 63. The higher the score, the more severe the anxiety. A total score of 15-25 indicates mild anxiety, 26-35 indicates moderate anxiety, and above 36 indicates severe anxiety. The Chinese version of this scale has good reliability and validity and is widely used in the assessment of anxiety symptoms.
Baseline, 8-week, 12-week, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month, every 6-months thereafter up to total 5-year follow-up
Number of participants experiencing any adverse event identified via participant follow-up interview
Time Frame: From study baseline until the end of study follow-up (variable follow-up duration across participants)
Adverse events prospectively captured during follow-up are documented, includes adverse events that may occur during the actual phamachotherapy treatment process of the research participants, as well as during psychological treatment or other intervention studies. During the research, the occurrence time, manifestation form, severity, handling measures, and outcome of the adverse events will be recorded.Each participant is counted once if one or more adverse events newly occur after study enrolment, regardless of total event episodes. Data will be summarized using participant counts and corresponding proportions.
From study baseline until the end of study follow-up (variable follow-up duration across participants)
Number of participants with suicidal-related events assessed by the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
Time Frame: From study baseline until the end of study follow-up (variable follow-up duration across participants)
Suicidal-related events include suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-harm and suicide attempts, identified using the C-SSRS structured interview. A participant will be counted only once if one or more suicidal-related events newly occur after study enrolment during follow-up, regardless of total event episodes. Data will be summarized as participant counts and corresponding proportions.
From study baseline until the end of study follow-up (variable follow-up duration across participants)
Number of participants experiencing serious adverse events identified via participant follow-up interview
Time Frame: From study baseline until the end of study follow-up (variable follow-up duration across participants)
Serious adverse events are defined according to ICH-GCP criteria. Events are documented using verbatim clinical descriptions obtained from study follow-up interviews. A participant will be counted only once if any serious adverse event occurs during follow-up, irrespective of the total number of individual events experienced. Only serious adverse events newly occurring after study enrolment are counted. Data will be summarized as participant counts and corresponding proportions.
From study baseline until the end of study follow-up (variable follow-up duration across participants)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Shanghai Mental Health Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Qing Zhao, Shanghai Mental Health Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 10, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 10, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2025-SFDL06

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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