• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.115-124
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• 2001

Objective：The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical features of children with three subdiagnoses of tic disorder(transient tic disorder(TTD), chronic tic disorder(CTD) and Tourette’s disorder (TD)) and to exam the factors related with illness severity of them. Method：Subjects were 69 children who met DSM-IV criteria for tic disorder and 43 control children. All subjects were investigated demographic and clinical factors related to tic. The severity of tic was assessed with the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale(YGTSS) in tic disorder children. The Child Behavior Checklist(CBCL) was accomplished by parents of all subjects. Results：Children with TTD had not only shorter duration of tic symtoms but also milder tic severity and impairment than those with CTD and TD. They also had significantly lower scores on most CBCL subscales than children with CTD and TD, while they were similar with controls in all the CBCL subcale scores except aggressive behavior. Children with CTD and those with TD were similar to each other in clinical variables except number of tic symptom and scores on CBCL social problem subscale. The interference and intensity of motor tic symptoms and duration of tic symptoms were significant predictors of global impairment score on YGTSS, while the presence of comorbid ADHD was a preictor of the total behavior problem score of CBCL. Conclusion：These findings indicate that duration of tic symptoms and the presence of comorbid ADHD as well as the severity of tic symptoms strongly associated with the illness severity of children with tic disorder. These results also suggest that those clinical factors may be more important for assessing the severity of illness and determining the treatment strategy than the sub-diagnosis itself in children with tic disorder.