A survey of Tourette syndrome patients and their families: the 1987 Ohio Tourette Survey.

A large sample of patients (N = 763) with Tourette syndrome (TS) responded to a questionnaire dealing primarily with symptoms, treatment history, and associated disorders. The shrinking duration between symptom onset and diagnostic confirmation confirms that diagnostic awareness of TS is increasing. A significant proportion of the sample identified several common factors that occurred in the year before symptom onset. A significantly lower proportion of subjects whose initial symptoms included facial tics reported a positive response to haloperidol. Obsessive characteristics were associated with age and were more common in females. Patients with attention deficit disorder (ADD) had earlier age at onset of TS symptoms and were diagnosed earlier than patients without ADD. In general the data provide some support for a stress-diathesis model and also support previous suggestions about the genetics of Tourette syndrome and related conditions.