Lack of association of group A streptococcal infections and onset of TiCs: European Multicenter Tics in Children Study
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
- University College London
- University of Calgary
- Tel Aviv University
- University of Bari
- University of Rome La Sapienza
- Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust
- Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
- Levvel
- Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC)
- Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio
- CIBER - Center for Biomedical Research Network
- Hospital Clinic of Barcelona
- August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute
- Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
- Hannover Medical School (MHH)
- University of Copenhagen
- University of Lausanne
- ASL BA
- University of Catania
- Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Hospital
- University of Zurich
- University of Groningen
Abstract
Background and Objectives The goal of this work was to investigate the association between group A streptococcal (GAS) infections and tic incidence among unaffected children with a family history of chronic tic disorders (CTDs). Methods In a prospective cohort study, children with no history for tics who were 3 to 10 years of age with a first-degree relative with a CTD were recruited from the European Multicentre Tics in Children Study (EMTICS) across 16 European centers. Presence of GAS infection was assessed with throat swabs, serum anti–streptolysin O titers, and anti-DNAse titers blinded to clinical status. GAS exposure was defined with 4 different definitions based on these parameters. Cox regression analyses with time-varying GAS exposure were conducted to examine the association of onset of tics and GAS exposure during follow-up. Sensitivity analyses were conducted with Cox regression and logistic regression analyses. Results A total of 259 children were recruited; 1 child was found to have tic onset before study entry and therefore was excluded. Sixty-one children (23.6%) developed tics over an average follow-up period of 1 (SD 0.7) year. There was a strong association of sex and onset of tics, with girls having an ≈60% lower risk of developing tics compared to boys (hazard ratio [HR] 0.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.2–0.7). However, there was no statistical evidence to suggest an association of any of the 4 GAS exposure definitions with tic onset (GAS exposure definition 1: HR 0.310, 95% CI 0.037–2.590; definition 2: HR 0.561, 95% CI 0.219–1.436; definition 3: HR 0.853, 95% CI 0.466–1.561; definition 4: HR 0.725, 95% CI 0.384–1.370). Discussion These results do not suggest an association between GAS exposure and development of tics. Classification of Evidence This study provides Class I evidence that group A streptococcal exposure does not associate with the development of tics in children with first-degree relatives with chronic tic disorder.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | E1175-E1183 |
Journal | Neurology |
Volume | 98 |
Issue number | 11 |
Publication status | Published - 15 Mar 2022 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
PubMed | 35110379 |
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