Incidence of obsessive-compulsive disorder elements during COVID-19 pandemic and its association with alcohol consumption in the general population of Latvia

The restrictive measures to prevent COVID-19 infection may cause the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), especially washing compulsions and fear of contamination. It is manifested by uncontrollable, repetitive thoughts that could lead to obsession and unhealthy behavior. OCD can be associated with alcohol abuse as it provides temporary relief from the symptoms. The aim of the study is to analyze the incidence of OCD elements during COVID-19 pandemic and its association with alcohol consumption. The data was collected by using behavioral cross-sectional online survey that was conducted as a part of international multi-country study I-SHARE (International Sexual Health and Reproductive Health Survey) realized in Latvia as a component of the National Research Programme project “Impact of COVID-19 on health care system and public health in Latvia; ways in preparing health sector for future epidemics” (VPP-COVID-2020/1-0011). Besides questions focusing on sexual and reproductive health the survey included 20 questions related to mental health. Data was analyzed by using MS Excel and IBM SPSS 26.0. The results have been defined as statistically significant if p<0.05. There were 1173 people involved in the study, mostly women (82.4%), 18-39 y.o. (77%) living in Riga (62%). The following OCD elements were present: 19% experienced obsessive or compulsory hand washing behavior, 27% noted fear of touching items outside the house and 13% had obsessive thoughts about the pandemic. When analyzing the alcohol consumption 13.8% noted that during pandemic it has decreased either a lot or a bit, 15.9% confirmed a bit increased alcohol consumption. None of responders confirmed substantial increase of alcohol use. There was no statistically significant correlation between OCD elements and alcohol consumption. Despite quite high incidence of OCD elements among responders, there was no influence on alcohol consumption found in the online survey related to sexual and reproductive health during COVID-19 pandemic.