The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on tic symptoms in children and young people: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

To understand how children and young people with tic disorders were affected by COVID-19, we compared pre and during pandemic scores on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS). Participants were young people (N = 112; male:78%; 9–17 years) randomised to the control arm of the “ORBIT-Trial” (ISRCTN70758207, ClinicalTrials.gov-NCT03483493). For this analysis, the control arm was split into two groups: one group was followed up to 12-months’ post-randomisation before the pandemic started (pre-COVID group, n = 44); the other group was impacted by the pandemic at the 12-month follow-up (during-COVID group, n = 47). Mixed effects linear regression modelling was conducted to explore differences in YGTSS at 6- and 12-months post-randomisation. There were no significant differences in tic symptom or severity between participants who were assessed before and during COVID-19. This finding was not influenced by age, gender, symptoms of anxiety or autism spectrum disorder. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly impact existing tic symptoms.

Citation

Hall, C. L., Marston, L., Khan, K., Brown, B. J., Sanderson, C., Andrén, P., …Murphy, T. (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on tic symptoms in children and young people: a prospective cohort study. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-022-01348-1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 4, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 13, 2022
• Publication Date: Apr 13, 2022
• Deposit Date: Mar 18, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 14, 2023
• Journal: Child Psychiatry and Human Development
• Print ISSN: 0009-398X
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-3327
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-022-01348-1
• Keywords: Psychiatry and Mental health; Developmental and Educational Psychology; Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7611257
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10578-022-01348-1