Clinical tics and quality of life in children and adolescents with tic disorders: The mediating role of sleep

Background

Sleep conditions are important in children and adolescents with tic disorders. Psychiatric symptoms and tic symptoms themselves can detrimentally affect the quality of life (QOL) in individuals with tic disorders. However, there is currently a lack of explicit research evidence elucidating the relationship between sleep and the QOL in individuals with tic disorders.

Methods

We assessed 150 children/adolescents aged 4–14 years old diagnosed with tic disorders. Participants' tic symptoms were evaluated using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), while their sleep conditions were assessed using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and quality of life was measured using the Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome-Quality of Life Scale (GTS-QOL), all utilizing standardized measurement instruments. Detailed statistical descriptions, correlation analyses, and mediation analyses of the data were performed.

Results

We observed significant correlations among tic symptoms, sleep, and quality of life. Then, we confirmed the mediating role of sleep in the relationship between tic symptoms and quality of life (β = .591, 95%CI: .252–1.007). We also found that among different sleep variables, particularly bedtime resistance (β = .088, 95 % CI: .003–.260), played a significant mediating role.

Conclusions

Sleep was found to be a significantly mediator between tic symptoms and quality of life across various domains, especially bedtime resistance played an important mediating role. This indicates that assessment and management of sleep conditions in children/adolescents with tic disorders are important. These findings provide potentially valuable insights into the clinical evaluation of children and adolescents with tic disorders and the potential improvement of their quality of life in the future.