Outcomes in adulthood are associated more with the perceived significance of having tics as a child than with the actual severity of the tics. A person who was misunderstood, punished or teased at home or at school is likely to fare worse than a child who enjoyed an understanding environment. The long-lasting effects of bullying and teasing can influence self-esteem, self-confidence, and even employment choices and opportunities. Comorbid ADHD can severely affect the childs well-being in all realms, and extend into adulthood.Factors impacting quality of life change over time, given the natural fluctuating course of tic disorders, the development of coping strategies, and a persons age. As ADHD symptoms improve with maturity, adults report less negative impact in their occupational lives than do children in their educational lives. Tics have a greater impact on adults psychosocial function, including financial burdens, than they do on children. Adults are more likely to report a reduced quality of life due to depression or anxiety; depression contributes a greater burden than tics to adults quality of life compared to children. As coping strategies become more effective with age, the impact of OCD symptoms seems to diminish. Epidemiology
Tourette syndrome is a common but underdiagnosed condition that reaches across all social, racial and ethnic groups. It is three to four times more frequent in males than in females. Observed prevalence rates are higher among children than adults because tics tend to remit or subside with maturity and a diagnosis may no longer be warranted for many adults.
Education is an important part of any treatment plan, and explanation alone often provides sufficient reassurance that no other treatment is necessary. Other conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), are more likely to be present among those who are referred to specialty clinics than they are among the broader population of persons with Tourettes. These co-occurring conditions often cause more impairment to the individual than the tics; hence it is important to correctly distinguish co-occurring conditions and treat them. Tourette syndrome was named by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot for his intern, Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who published in 1885 an account of nine patients with a "convulsive tic disorder". While the exact cause is unknown, it is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The mechanism appears to involve dysfunction in neural circuits between the basal ganglia and related structures in the brain. Classification
Most published research on Tourette syndrome originates in the United States; in international TS research and clinical practice, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is preferred over the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, which is criticized in the 2021 European Clinical Guidelines. In the fifth version of the DSM (DSM-5), published in 2013, Tourette syndrome is classified as a motor disorder (a disorder of the nervous system that causes abnormal and involuntary movements). It is listed in the neurodevelopmental disorder category.