Clinical features and associated psychopathology in a Tourette syndrome cohort.
OBJECTIVE
This study explored in detail the association between tic symptomatology, related clinical variables, and psychopathology in 91 consecutive adult TS subjects from a UK clinic.


METHODS
Consecutive patients from a specialized Tourette clinic who met the DSM-III criteria for TS were evaluated using standardized rating scales for Tourette syndrome and other psychopathology.


RESULTS
The male female ratio in our cohort was 1.8:1. Significantly more males had an earlier age at onset of TS and history of birth complications. Obsessive compulsive behaviors in the patient was positively correlated with presence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and self-injurious behaviors. With regard to adult psychopathology, principal components factor analysis yielded two factors, 'obsessionality' and 'anxiety/depression', which accounted for 72% of the variance.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results support the high occurrence of anxiety, depression and obsessionality in adult TS subjects.
Eapen
V
V
National Hospital for Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK. veapen@uaeu.ac.be
Fox-Hiley
P
P
Banerjee
S
S
Robertson
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006113:United Kingdom