Session Information
Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Session Title: Tics/Tourette
Session Time: 1:45pm-3:15pm
Location: Les Muses Terrace, Level 3
Objective: To evaluate the use of illegal substances in a “real world” sample of subjects with a diagnosis of Tourette syndrome (TS) or other tic disorders (TD).
Background: TS is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder. Individuals with TS are at an increased risk for substance use disorders.
Method: A web-based survey was conducted by the Tourette Association of America, disseminated electronically to its membership (Jan-May/2018). Participants were informed that data would be used anonymously in aggregate to assess impact and experience of living with TS/TD. Only adult self-responders who completed the substance use question were included in this analysis.
Results: 223 out of 281 adults were included in the analysis. 75.3% (n=168) were diagnosed for 10 years or longer and 63.2% (n=141) were diagnosed by a neurologist. 23.3% (n=52) reported ever abusing any substance. In this group, 71.2% (n=37) abused 1 substance, 13.5% (n=7) abused 2 substances, 11.5% (n=6) abused 3 substances, and 3.8% (n=2) abused 5 substances. Alcohol was the most commonly abused substance at 59.6% (n=31). Using Chi-square test of independence revealed a significant relation between substance abuse and a history of self-harm/suicide X2(1, n=222)=9.58, p=0.002 (phi=0.21), as well as a history of being discriminated against or bullied, X2(1, 220)=5.47, p=0.019 (phi=0.16). Notably there was no significant relation to financial burden, missing work/school, or social impairment. Results of the Spearman correlation indicated that there was a significant positive association between the number of substances abused and the number of medications tried, (rs(211)=0.22, p=0.002).
Conclusion: This study reveals a relatively high rate of substance abuse in adults with TS/TD (23.3% compared to 12.8% previously reported). Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance. Substance abuse appears to be weakly related to a history of suicide, being discriminated against, and multiple medication trials. Further studies to evaluate these associations are warranted.
References: Jankovic J, Gelineau‐Kattner R, Davidson A. Tourette’s syndrome in adults. Movement Disorders. 2010 Oct 15;25(13):2171-5.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
W. Deeb, A. Elkouzi, I. Malaty. Self-reported substance abuse in a real-world sample of Tourette Syndrome and other tic disorder subjects [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2019; 34 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/self-reported-substance-abuse-in-a-real-world-sample-of-tourette-syndrome-and-other-tic-disorder-subjects/. Accessed July 13, 2025.« Back to 2019 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/self-reported-substance-abuse-in-a-real-world-sample-of-tourette-syndrome-and-other-tic-disorder-subjects/