‘An international perspective on Tourette syndrome’

The prevalence and epidemiology of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

“…By 2007, Freeman and the Tourette Syndrome International Data Base Consortium [37] reported that the database had increased to 6805 GTS patients. In the context of the present study, it is probably worth mentioning that the original study [7] was commented on by Rickards [38], who noted the low prevalence of coprolalia, OCB/OCD, and self-injurious behaviors, but high percentages of leaning difficulties and ADHD which were reported and which he felt were in contrast to earlier data. Rickards noted that the coprolalia and OCB/OCD were always considered integral to GTS and therefore questioned whether or not these different patterns of symptomatology reflected a change in diagnostic trends amongst clinicians, changing referral patterns, a transatlantic difference (69% of patients were from North America) or a "change" in the syndrome itself.…”

The prevalence and epidemiology of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

“…In the context of the discussion, it is probably worth mentioning again that the original study [64] was commented on by Rickards [98] who noted the low prevalence of coprolalia, OCB/OCD, and self-injurious behaviors but high percentages of leaning difficulties and ADHD which were reported and which he felt were in contrast to earlier data. Rickards [98] noted that the coprolalia and OCB/OCD were always considered integral to GTS and therefore questioned whether or not these different patterns of symptomatology reflected a change in diagnostic trends amongst clinicians, changing referral patterns, a transatlantic difference (69% of patients were from North America) or a "change" in the syndrome itself. The phenomenology of GTS and what constitutes the phenotype has been discussed, and it is suggested that there is more than one GTS phenotype and that the prevalence in the various types are unknown.…”