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

Journal Article

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