Epidemiological survey of Tourette syndrome in children and adolescents in Wenzhou of P.R. China.
An epidemiological survey on Tourette syndrome (TS) in a developing country is relatively scarce. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and distribution of TS in children and juveniles aged 7-16 years in Wenzhou of P.R. China. A total of 9742 children and adolescents were included in this survey. Cross-sectional study with stratified-cluster sampling method was used. The prevalence of TS among school-age children was estimated to be an average of 0.43%. The ratio of male to female was 10.6 to 1 (0.74% for males and 0.07% for females). Pupils in the age range of 7-16 years are more likely to have comorbid disorders. The mean age at onset of TS was 7.7+/-2.7 years, with 45.2% of them at the age of 6-7. The rate of delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis and misclassification of the syndrome were 78.6, 42.9 and 23.8%, respectively. This survey supports that TS is a common disease prevalent amongst children and juveniles in Wenzhou area of P.R. China, and its incidence was correlated with age and sex and often misdiagnosed and misclassified.
Jin
Rong
R
Department of Epidemiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, P.R. China. jinrong62@yahoo.com.cn
Zheng
Rong-yuan
RY
Huang
Wen-wu
WW
Xu
Hui-qin
HQ
Shao
Bei
B
Chen
Hong
H
Feng
Liang
L
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*