Prevalence of misophonia and its association with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder among medical students

مقال فى مجلة

 

Abstract

Misophonia, a neurobehavioral syndrome, reduces tolerance to specific stimuli and impacts various domains of life. It is also

strongly correlated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence

of misophonia among medical students at King Saud University (KSU), Saudi Arabia, identify related sociodemographic factors,

and assess misophonia association with OCD and depression. This cross-sectional study included 371 participants. The study

tool was distributed electronically between November 19 and December 07, 2023. It consisted of 4 sections: a questionnaire

developed by the research team, the Amsterdam Misophonia Scale (A-MISO-S), the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-

Revised (OCI-R), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The results indicated that 42.32% of the participants

had previously experienced misophonia, with symptoms developing suddenly in 28.66%. The majority of participants had

subclinical misophonia (71.16%) and minimal depression (37.47%), with a significant proportion experiencing mild-to-severe

misophonia (28.84%) and varying degrees of depression (33.15%). Approximately 31.00% of the students exhibited likely OCD.

The PHQ-9 and A-MISO-S scores showed weak positive correlations, whereas the OCI-R and A-MISO-S scores showed a

moderate positive correlation. Furthermore, a moderate positive correlation was observed between the OCI-R and PHQ-9

scores. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that sex, family history of misophonia, depression severity, and OCD were

significantly associated with clinical misophonia. This study underscores the significance of recognizing misophonia among

medical students and its associated factors, such as OCD and depression. Further multicenter studies using more rigorous

research methodologies are warranted.

 

Abbreviations: A-MISO-S = Amsterdam Misophonia Scale, CI = confidence interval, KSU = King Saud University, OCD =

obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCI-R = Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, OR = odds ratio, PHQ-9 = Patient Health

Questionnaire-9, SD = standard deviation

 

Keywords: depression, King Saud University, medical students, misophonia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Saudi Arabia

 

Citation: Almadani AH, Alabdulkarim IM, Akresh MI, Alassaf MI, Alkathiri MA, Alkublan KM, Aldoghmani RA, Alghtani YA, Alwaily SA. Prevalence of misophonia and its association with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder among medical students. Medicine 2024;103:43(e40217). http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000040217