Prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior and hoarding disorder in children and adolescents

Although hoarding symptoms are reported to begin in childhood and adolescence, the true prevalence of the disorder in this age group is unknown. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of hoarding disorder (HD) in children and adolescents. The present study was planned as a two-stage epidemiological research. In the first stage, the Children’s Saving Inventory (CSI) and informed consent forms were delivered to a group of students’ parents. In the second stage, one-on-one psychiatric interviews with a physician were planned with the families and children who had hoarding behavior (HB), as described by their parents. The DSM-5-based HD interview and the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) diagnostic tool were used to detect prevalence of HD and comorbid psychiatric disorders. A total of 3249 children were included in the study, and 318 children and their parents were evaluated in the second stage. As a result of the second assessment, 32 out of 318 children met the HD diagnostic criteria. The estimated prevalence of HD was 0.98% (95% CI 0.7–1.4). Hoarding disorder was found more frequently in females (F/M = 3/1). After a logistic regression analysis, variables such as female sex and the presence of any psychopathology were identified as independent correlates of HD. More than half (56.2%) of the children diagnosed as having HD also had a comorbid psychiatric disorder. In the present study, the two-stage evaluation method was used in a large pediatric sample to determine the estimated prevalence of HD, as well as the factors associated with the disorder and comorbid psychiatric disorders.