Quality of life and psychiatric comorbidities in pediatric patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

• Published in: Revista de neurologiá Vol. 73; no. 10; pp. 339 - 344
• Main Authors: Solís-García, G, Jové-Blanco, A, Chacón-Pascual, A, Vázquez-López, M, Castro-De Castro, P, Carballo, J J, Pina-Camacho, L, Miranda-Herrero, M C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: Spain 16-11-2021
• Subjects: Adolescent; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders - complications; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Self Report; Tourette Syndrome - complications
• ISSN: 1576-6578
• DOI: 10.33588/rn.7310.2021046

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder which is normally associated to psychiatric comorbidity such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety or depression. Quality of life (QoL) in these patients can be affected by tic severity and associated comorbidities.
The aim of the study was to describe and analyze QoL and psychiatric comorbidities in a sample of pediatric patients, as well as to develop a Spanish version of the questionnaire CandA-GTS-QoL to measure quality of life in this population.
Single-center, observational, prospective study. Patients aged 6 to 16 years old with TS were included. Demographic, clinical, diagnostic and treatment data were gathered. Questionnaires regarding tic severity, psychiatric comorbidity and quality of life were used.
Twenty-two patients with DSM-5 diagnosis of TS were included (86.4% male, median age 11 years). Of those, 86.4% had been previously diagnosed of psychiatric comorbidities and 72.7% received psychopharmacologic treatment. The prevalence of an ICD-10 current diagnosis of anxiety was 72.7%, depression 50%, ADHD 40.9% and OCD 7.3%. Median QoL score was 59.5 (RIC: 34.8-71.3) for PedsQL, and 55.5 (RIC: 45-65) for CandA-GTS-QoL, with a correlation between scores of R2 = 0.83 (p < 0.01). Higher tic severity was associated with poorer QoL (PedsQL R2: -0.732, p <0.01, CandA-GTS-QoL R2: -0.501, p = 0.021). A higher EDAH score for ADHD was associated with poorer QoL (PedsQL R2: -0.463, p = 0.03, CandA-GTS-QoL R2-0.534, p < 0.01).
Prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in pediatric TS is high and frequently underdiagnosed. Tics and psychiatric comorbidities affect quality of life. Further studies are needed to validate the Spanish version of CandA-GTS-QoL scale.