Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Compulsive behaviors
Obsessive compulsive behavior
HP:0000722
What it means
Behavior that consists of repetitive acts, characterized by the feeling that one "has to" perform them, while being aware that these acts are not in line with one's overall goal.
In everyday care
Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:
Rare diseases that can present with this47
Common30–79%
19- 1p31p32microdeletion syndrome
- Autism spectrum disorder due to AUTS2 deficiency
- CHARGE syndrome
- Cornelia de Lange syndrome
- Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome
- FRAXE intellectual disability
- Helsmoortel-Van der Aa syndrome
- Huntington disease
- Manganese poisoning
- Myoclonus-dystonia syndrome
- Oculocerebrorenal syndrome of Lowe
- PCDH19 clustering epilepsy
- Proximal 16p11.2 microduplication syndrome
- Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome due to 16p13.3 microdeletion
- Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome due to CREBBP mutations
- Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome due to EP300 haploinsufficiency
- Sydenham chorea
- Transketolase deficiency
- Williams syndrome
Sometimes5–29%
24- 11q22.2q22.3microdeletion syndrome
- 16p13.11microdeletion syndrome
- 17q21.31microduplication syndrome
- 22q11.2duplication syndrome
- 2q37microdeletion syndrome
- Atypical pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration
- Autosomal dominant dopa-responsive dystonia
- Choreoacanthocytosis
and 16 more in this range
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Obsessive compulsive behaviour · Obsessive compulsive disorder · Obsessive-compulsive behavior · Obsessive-compulsive behaviour · Obsessive-compulsive disorder · OCD
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Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.