Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Dimensions in Japanese Tourette Syndrome Subjects

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the current and lifetime frequency and severity of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptom dimensions in Tourette syndrome (TS) patients, and how these dimensions affect clinical characteristics.Methods: Forty TS outpatients (29 males, 11 females) were interviewed with the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS), the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), the Shapiro Tourette Syndrome Severity Scale, and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF).Results: OC symptoms were present in 80% of the total sample. The miscellaneous and the symmetry dimensions were the most frequent at the “current” and “lifetime” surveys, respectively. The aggression dimension had the smallest difference between “worst ever” and current ratings among the all OC symptom dimensions. TS patients with the aggression dimension (n=7) had significantly lower scores in the GAF scale and higher frequencies of coprolalia. There were significant correlations between the YGTSS severity scores and specific DY-BOCS dimensions.Conclusion: OC symptoms are frequent in TS subjects and there were differences in the frequency, severity, and course of the OC symptom dimensions. These results emphasize the need for future longitudinal studies using a dimensional approach for the evaluation of OC symptoms in tic disorders.

Impact of obsessive–compulsive symptoms in Tourette's syndrome on neuropsychological performance

“…Also, aggressive obsessions were reported more frequently in OCD patients with major depression compared to those without major depression 35 . Furthermore, TS patients with aggression‐dimension OCS had lower Global Assessment of Functioning scores and higher frequencies of coprolalia 36 . The current study supposed that these clinical difficulties related to Aggression OCS might be partly due to cognitive inflexibility.…”

“…First, only preliminary examinations of the validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the DY‐BOCS were completed, 36 although the Japanese version of the DY‐BOCS had good criterion‐related validity with Y‐BOCS in the current study.…”

“…Whereas previous studies indicated that checking compulsions are related to impaired memory ability 19–21 and cognitive flexibility 21 in OCD, the current study indicated that Aggression OCS in TS is related to impaired cognitive flexibility, regardless of the presence of checking compulsions. Aggression OCS would have different characteristics from other OCS, both etiologically 34 and clinically 35,36 . For example, the violence/aggression‐dimension OCS have been associated with early onset OCD 34 .…”

Symptom dimensions in OCD and their association with clinical characteristics and comorbid disorders

“…For example, in a large Brazilian study, tic-related OCD was associated with more severe scores on the aggressive, sexual/ religious and hoarding symptom dimensions of the DYBOCS in addition to its association with early onset, male preponderance, sensory phenomena, and comorbidity with anxiety and impulse control disorders and ADHD (de Alvarenga et al, 2012). Association between aggressive dimension and Tourette syndrome has also been reported in a study from Japan (Kano et al, 2012).…”

Psychometric properties of the DY-BOCS in a Turkish sample of children and adolescents

“…The DY-BOCS was initially validated in English and Portugese, with excellent psychometric properties 32 and subsequently translated and validated in Spanish, 31 Chinese, 33 Hungarian, 34 Korean 35 and Japanese 36 with excellent psychometric properties. In summary, the DY-BOCS is noted to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing OC symptom dimensions as well as providing valid overall estimates of symptom severity.…”