Health‐related quality of life in patients with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome

Abstract

To investigate the health-related quality of life (HrQoL) of adult patients with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome (GTS) in Germany. HrQoL was evaluated in 200 adult patients with GTS (Mean age: 34.9 +/- 11.8 years). Patients were recruited from three outpatient departments in Germany and completed a semi-structured, self-rating interview. HrQoL was measured using the EQ-5D. Depression was assessed using the Beck's depression inventory (BDI) and clinical symptoms using the Yale Tourette syndrome symptom list (TSSL) and the Shapiro Tourette-syndrome severity scale (STSSS). Multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of HrQoL. Patients with GTS proved to have a worse HrQoL than a sample from the general German population. The domains most affected were anxiety/depression (57.1%), followed by pain/discomfort (47.5%), usual activities (38.4%), mobility (14%), and self-care (6.6%). The mean EQ-5D visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) was 65.4 +/- 21.9. The patients had a mean BDI score of 12.3 +/- 9.9, which was considerably worse compared to a healthy group who had a score of 6.45 +/- 5.2. The mean STSSS value was 3.2 +/- 1.1. In multivariate analyses, depressive symptoms contributed considerably, whereas the severity of symptoms as well as age only contributed minimally to HrQoL in the model (R(2) = 0.54). HrQoL is considerably reduced in adult patients with GTS. The main independent factors for determining HrQoL were depression, severity of symptoms, and age. Although, treatment of tics is important, co-morbidities such as depression should be diagnosed and treated vigorously.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome: A Decade of Research

“…Müller-Vahl et al investigated the correlates of HR-QOL in an adult population of patients with GTS in Germany [40]. They assessed 200 patients (mean age 34.9 years; age range 18-75) using one of the most widely used generic measures of HR-QOL, the EQ-5D.…”

The roles of anxiety and depression in connecting tic severity and functional impairment

“…Depression (Comings & Comings, 1987;Müller-Vahl et al, 2010;Robertson, Channon, Baker, & Flynn, 1993;Robertson & Stern, 1997) and anxiety are commonplace among individuals with CTD. Estimates of depression in adults with CTD reach as high as 76% (Robertson, 2006;Snijders, Robertson, & Orth, 2006) and rates of non-OCD anxiety range from 13% to 45% (Chee & Sachdev, 1994;Coffey, Frazier, & Chen, 1992;Erenberg et al, 1987).…”

Emerging Treatment Strategies in Tourette Syndrome

“…The presence of these comorbidities can be associated with social difficulties and can have a greater impact on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) than the tic severity (Muller-Vahl et al, 2010). Therefore, the treatment of tics and tic-related symptoms in TS is vital for maintaining patients' current QoL and could even have an impact on their future well-being (Eddy et al, 2011).…”