A prospective study of delayed sleep phase syndrome in patients with severe resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder

There have been relatively few studies examining sleep in patients withobsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and these have produced contradictoryfindings. A recent retrospective study identified a possible association betweenOCD and a circadian rhythm sleep disorder known as delayed sleep phase syndrome(DSPS). Patients with this pattern of sleeping go to bed and get up much laterthan normal. They are unable to shift their sleep to an earlier time and,as a result, suffer considerable disruption to social and occupational functioning.In this study, we examined the sleep of patients with OCD prospectively. Weaimed to establish the frequency of DSPS in this population and any associatedclinical or demographic factors which might be implicated in its aetiology.