Differences in Tic Severity Among Adolescent Girls and Boys with Tourette Syndrome During the Pandemic.

Abstract

Limited data are available regarding the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on adolescents with Tourette syndrome (TS). We sought to compare sex differences in tic severity experienced by adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We extracted from the electronic health record and retrospectively reviewed Yale Global Tic Severity Scores (YGTSS) from adolescents (ages 13 through 17) with TS presenting to our clinic before (36 months) and during (24 months) the pandemic. A total of 373 unique adolescent patient encounters (prepandemic: 199; pandemic: 173) were identified. Compared with prepandemic, girls accounted for a significantly greater proportion of visits during the pandemic (p < 0.001). Prepandemic, tic severity did not differ between girls and boys. During the pandemic, compared with girls, boys had less clinically severe tics (p = 0.003). During the pandemic, older girls, but not boys, had less clinically severe tics (ρ =- 0.32, p = 0.003). These findings provide evidence that, regarding tic severity assessed with YGTSS, the experiences of adolescent girls and boys with TS have differed during the pandemic.