Demographics Features of OCD

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder tends to be slightly more common in females than in males. The lifetime prevalence of the disorder in women is 2.9%, versus 2.0% in men. However, in a 1980 study of 20,000 adults from New Haven, Baltimore, St. Louis, Durham, and Los Angeles, the lifetime prevalence rate of OCD for both genders was recorded at 2.5%.

Education also appears to be a factor. The lifetime prevalence of OCD is lower for those who have graduated high school than for those who have not (1.9% versus 3.4%). However, in the case of college education, lifetime prevalence is higher for those who graduate with a degree (3.1%) than it is for those who have only some college background (2.4%). As far as age is concerned, the onset of OCD usually ranges from the late teenage years until the mid-twenties in both genders, but the age of onset tends to be slightly younger in males than in females.