2.2. Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria for all participants were as follows: use of drugs
affecting the immune system in the last 6 months; any immunological,
hematological, neurological, metabolical, or significant medical or
infectious disease in the last month; substance abuse in the last 3
months; and smoking.
Inclusion criteria for the patient group were as follows: diagnosed with
active OCD according to DSM-5; and persistence of an OCD episode for at
least 6 weeks.
Patients who had used psychotropic medications in the last 6 weeks and
those who were diagnosed with a comorbid psychiatric disorder were
excluded from the study.
The exclusion criteria for the healthy control group were a history of
psychiatric disorder and psychotropic drug use.
During the research period, 69 children diagnosed with OCD and 41
healthy children were admitted to the study. In the OCD group, 14
subjects were excluded due to psychiatric comorbidities, 13 due to
psychotropic medication use and psychiatric comorbidities, 8 because of
non-psychotropic medication use, 3 due to smoking, and 2 because of
chronic diseases. In the healthy group, 5 children were excluded because
of non-psychotropic medication use, 4 due to a history of psychiatric
disorders, 2 because of smoking, and 2 due to a newly diagnosed
psychiatric disorder. Thus, 29 children with OCD and 28 healthy controls
met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the
research.