Clinical features and associated psychopathology in a Tourette syndrome cohort

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.

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.

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.

Our results support the high occurrence of anxiety, depression and obsessionality in adult TS subjects.