An international research collaboration, led by Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, is launching a project to predict and potentially prevent obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children. The initiative will utilize artificial intelligence to identify children at heightened risk and develop early intervention strategies for families.
The project, supported by a grant from the Wellcome Trust, will initially focus on adapting and testing a predictive model in the United Kingdom and Brazil, according to Professor David Mataix-Cols of the Centre for Psychiatry Research at Karolinska Institutet. “Families affected by OCD often ask if it’s possible to prevent the condition in the next generation,” Mataix-Cols stated. “With the support of the Wellcome Trust, we will further develop and culturally adapt our prototype intervention for children at elevated risk and evaluate it in Great Britain and Brazil.”
Researchers will test the predictive model across diverse populations, including Swedish cohorts, to ensure its effectiveness within different healthcare systems and cultural contexts. The work builds on extensive input from individuals with lived experience of OCD, with over 150 people contributing to earlier phases of the research.
Alongside the predictive modeling, the research group will create a framework for early, parent-focused interventions targeting families with children identified as being at risk. The intervention will be pilot-tested in the UK and Brazil, with the long-term goal of establishing a scalable public health strategy for early OCD prevention. “Our ambition is to intervene before symptoms grow disabling by providing parents with practical, evidence-based tools that can reduce risk,” Mataix-Cols explained.
The collaboration includes researchers from King’s Maudsley Partnership, University of São Paulo, University College London, and the non-profit organization Orchard OCD. Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (OCD-RDs), which include conditions like Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Hoarding Disorder, Hair Pulling Disorder, Skin-Picking Disorder, and Tourette Syndrome, affect approximately 2% of the general population and often co-occur with other psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
According to Karolinska Institutet, OCD and related disorders are frequently under-detected, under-treated, and under-researched, despite their significant impact on individuals and society. The project represents a key step toward a future where OCD can be identified, and potentially prevented, before it has severe consequences for children and families worldwide.
