By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The number of teenagers suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has risen by nearly 60 percent in just three years, the National Health Insurance Corporation said Thursday.
According to its report, 2,878 people aged between 10 and 19 visited medical facilities for treatment last year, up 58 percent compared to 2005.
The growth rate is the fastest among all age brackets, the state-run agency said. A total of 18,271 people suffered from the disorder last year, a jump of about 40 percent from 11,210 in 2001. Men outnumbered females - about 11,000 men visited hospitals for the disorder, 1.4 times the 8,000 females.
OCD is a type of anxiety disorder. The American Academy of Family Physicians says it causes people to have unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and to repeat certain behaviors (compulsions) over and over again.
Their patterns of behavior get in the way of their daily lives because once an idea strikes their minds, they try to get rid of the feelings by performing certain behaviors according to "rules" that they have established for themselves, it said.
Prof. Kim Chan-hyung of Yonsei Severance Hospital said that parents trying to force their children to study could be the largest reason for the rise in cases of OCD among teens. "They are under extreme competition to go to good universities," he said.
"I advise parents to be patient with their children. It is an illness in need of medication and constant therapy," he added.