Tic disorders revisited: introduction of the term “tic spectrum disorders”

• Published in: European child & adolescent psychiatry 2019-08, Vol.28 (8), p.1129-1135
• Main Authors: Müller-Vahl, Kirsten R., Sambrani, Tanvi, Jakubovski, Ewgeni
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Children; Clinical interviews; Comorbidity; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Female; Gilles de la Tourette syndrome; Humans; Male; Medical diagnosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - epidemiology; Original Contribution; Psychiatry; Retrospective Studies; Severity; Severity of Illness Index; Suffering; Tic Disorders - diagnosis; Tics; Tourette syndrome; Tourette Syndrome - diagnosis
• ISSN: 1018-8827; 1435-165X; 1435-165X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00787-018-01272-7

Although the DSM-5 chronic motor tic disorder (CMTD) and Tourette syndrome (TS) are distinct diagnostic categories, there is no genetic or phenotypic evidence that supports this diagnostic categorization. The aim of this study was to compare patients with both diagnoses along a number of clinical characteristics to provide further diagnostic clarity. Our sample consisted of 1018 patients (including adult and child patients) suffering from chronic tic disorders. Tic severity was assessed via Shapiro Tourette-Syndrome Severity Scale (STSS). Lifetime prevalence of other comorbid conditions was assessed in a semi-structured clinical interview. The data were gained through retrospective chart analysis. The two groups did not differ significantly in any of the clinical or demographic variables. Patients only differed in tic severity, with CMTD patients ( n  = 40) having lower mean tic severity (STSS = 2.0 vs. 2.8; p