Obsessive compulsive behaviour and depressive symptoms in young people with Tourette syndrome. A controlled study

Tourette syndrome (TS) is characterised by multiple motor and one or more vocal tics. There have been no controlled studies using standardised instruments of depressive symptoms and obsessive compulsive symptomatology (OCS) in young people with TS. We completed a study of phenomenology and psychopathology in children with TS, including a controlled evaluation of the association between depressive symptoms, OCS, and TS. 57 people aged 15 or under with TS were recruited. Phenomenology and psychopathology were assessed using standardised instruments. The association between TS, depressive symptoms and obsessionality was investigated using 75 age- and gender-matched controls. There were high levels of depressive symptomatology and OCS in the TS group. Twenty-three (40 %) had carried out self-injurious behaviours and 34 (60 %) met criteria for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Depressive symptoms and obsessionality were higher in the TS cohort compared with the control group; this excess persisted after adjustment for the effects of age, gender and comorbidity between depression and obsessionality. This study demonstrates high levels of psychopathology in children with TS, including ADHD, OCS and depressive symptoms. The findings illustrate the potentially complex, challenging combination of difficulties encountered by children with TS and those who care for them. Accepted: 2 October 2002 Correspondence to Mary M. Robertson, MD, MRCPCH, FRCPsych