Lack of association of group A streptococcal infections and onset of TiCs: European Multicenter Tics in Children Study

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • EMTICS Collaborative Group - (Author)
  • 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
  • Istituto Superiore di Sanita
  • 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 languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)E1175-E1183
JournalNeurology
Volume98
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - 15 Mar 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 35110379

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas