H7 Coil Deep Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Do Factors Like Age, Sex, and Medication Affect Clinical Outcomes?

Background Deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (DTMS), using the H7 coil, is an approved treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA). The clinical efficacy and safety of accelerated regimens of DTMS have been previously studied extensively. This study reiterates the efficacy of accelerated DTMS (aDTMS) and examines the influence of factors such as age, sex, and medication on clinical outcomes in the Indian population. Methods A retrospective data analysis of 378 OCD patients was conducted. aDTMS sessions were given as a combination of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) and high-frequency stimulation (HFS) over eight days, with two sessions per day. The primary outcome measure was the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) scores, assessed before and after 15 sessions of aDTMS. Results A significant mean reduction in Day 8 YBOCS scores (11.12 ± 7.46, Cohen's d = 2.2, p < 0.0001), with an overall response rate of 64.72% and a remission rate of 46.12%, was observed (N = 378). The study also found that patients of both sexes, aged 30-44 years, showed the highest response to treatment. Women with severe to extreme disease, and menopausal women, did not respond better than men. The number of drugs had no significant effect on the outcome. Conclusions The findings support the potential of aDTMS as an effective adjunctive treatment for OCD, highlighting the interplay of various factors in determining clinical outcomes.