Objective: Our study assessed child-serving health care providers' attitudes and knowledge related to identification and treatment of tic disorders including Tourette syndrome (TS), among children.
Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2022 Fall DocStyles, a web-based survey of health care providers. The analytic sample included 1058 child-serving providers (403 family practitioners, 232 internists, 251 pediatricians, and 172 nurse practitioners or physician assistants).
Introduction: Childhood mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders (MBDD) are common and are associated with poor health and well-being. Monitoring the prevalence of MBDDs among children and factors that may influence health outcomes is important to understanding risk and promoting population health.
Method: We examined trends in parent-reported lifetime MBDDs among children and associated health promotion and risk indicators from 2016 through 2021 by using data from the National Survey of Children's Health.
Evid Based Pract Child Adolesc Ment Health
March 2024
This study combines data from five studies in a quantitative modeling approach to improve identification of tics and tic disorders using two questionnaires (the Motor or Vocal Inventory of Tics and the Description of Tic Symptoms), administered to parents and children . Combining final diagnoses (positive or negative for tic disorder) with data from recently developed questionnaires implemented to assist in the identification of tics and tic disorders in children, we investigate methods for predicting positive diagnosis while also identifying which items in the questionnaires are most predictive. Logistic regression and random forest models are compared using various summary statistics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvid Based Pract Child Adolesc Ment Health
November 2023
Youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities typically have higher rates of tics and stereotypies compared to children with otherwise typical development. Differentiating between these two pediatric movement disorders can be challenging due to overlapping clinical features, but is relevant due to distinct treatment modalities. The current study evaluated sensitivity and specificity of a tic screening measure, the Motor or Vocal Inventory of Tics (MOVeIT) in a pediatric sample enriched for stereotypy and tics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExposure to certain chemicals prenatally and in childhood can impact development and may increase risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Leveraging a larger set of literature searches conducted to synthesize results from longitudinal studies of potentially modifiable risk factors for childhood ADHD, we present meta-analytic results from 66 studies that examined the associations between early chemical exposures and later ADHD diagnosis or symptoms. Studies were eligible for inclusion if the chemical exposure occurred at least 6 months prior to measurement of ADHD diagnosis or symptomatology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Examine children's mental health symptoms, including changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: The COVID Experiences Surveys, designed to be representative of the U.S.
Background: Dysfunction in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis has been associated with depressive and anxiety disorders. Little is known about the risk for these disorders among individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a form of primary adrenal insufficiency.
Objective: We investigated the prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders and antidepressant prescriptions in two large healthcare databases of insured children, adolescents, and young adults with CAH in the United States.
Evid Based Pract Child Adolesc Ment Health
March 2023
Tics are unwanted, repetitive movements and sounds that frequently present during childhood. They are typically brief and purposeless, but can create significant distress for individuals, and often co-occur with other neuropsychiatric conditions. Thus, early identification of tics is warranted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrescription stimulant use, primarily for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has increased among adults in the United States during recent decades, while remaining stable or declining among children and adolescents (1,2). MarketScan commercial claims data were analyzed to describe trends in prescription stimulant fills before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2016-2021) by calculating annual percentages of enrollees aged 5-64 years in employer-sponsored health plans who had one or more prescription stimulant fills overall and by sex and age group. Overall, the percentage of enrollees with one or more prescription stimulant fills increased from 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: On October 15, 2021, the Minnesota Department of Health began investigating a school cluster of students experiencing tic-like behaviors thought to be related to recent COVID-19. The objective of this report is to describe the investigation, key findings, and public health recommendations.
Methods: Affected students and proxies were interviewed with a standardized questionnaire including validated depression and anxiety screens.
Evid Based Pract Child Adolesc Ment Health
January 2023
Effective methods to assess mental disorders in children are necessary for accurate prevalence estimates and to monitor prevalence over time. This study assessed updates of the tic disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) modules of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Version 5 (DISC-5) that reflect changes in diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth edition, DSM-5). The DISC-5 tic disorder and ADHD parent- and child-report modules were compared to expert clinical assessment for 100 children aged 6-17 years (40 with tic disorder alone, 17 with tic disorder and ADHD, 9 with ADHD alone, and 34 with neither) for validation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvid Based Pract Child Adolesc Ment Health
January 2023
Tics and tic disorders can significantly impact children, but limited screening tools and diagnostic challenges may delay access to care. The current study attempted to address these gaps by evaluating sensitivity and specificity of the Motor or Vocal Inventory of Tics (MOVeIT), a tic symptom screener, and the Description of Tic Symptoms (DoTS), a brief diagnostic assessment for tic disorders. Children (n=100, age 6-17 years old) with tic disorders attending a Tourette specialty clinic and a community-recruited sample without tics completed a gold-standard assessment by a tic expert; these evaluations were compared to child self-report and parent and teacher report versions of the MOVeIT, and child and parent versions of the DoTS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvid Based Pract Child Adolesc Ment Health
January 2023
Objective: To evaluate the appropriateness of parent-reported diagnosis of ADHD as a surveillance tool.
Method: We assessed agreement over time and concordance of parent-reported diagnosis against Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-based criteria. We compared concordance of diagnosis and DSM-based criteria by child characteristics, including treatment.
Objective: Without timely screening, diagnosis, and intervention, hearing loss can cause significant delays in a child's speech, language, social, and emotional development. In 2019, Texas had nearly twice the average rate of loss to follow-up (LFU) or loss to documentation (LTD; i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEstimates of the number of people in the U.S. with Tourette syndrome or other persistent tic disorders can inform service provision planning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This study evaluated the stability over time of prevalence estimates of mental disorders among school-aged children from the same community.
Methods: We compared screening status and weighted prevalence of selected mental disorders from the two-stage school-based South Carolina Project to Learn About Youth-Mental Health (Time 1) and its replication study (Time 2) conducted between 2014 and 2017. During stage 1, two teacher screeners were used to group students into high or low risk for a mental disorder.
Poor parental mental health and stress have been associated with children's mental disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), through social, genetic, and neurobiological pathways. To determine the strength of the associations between parental mental health and child ADHD, we conducted a set of meta-analyses to examine the association of parent mental health indicators (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To provide state-level estimates of diagnosed ADHD and associated treatment among children in the United States in 2016 to 2019.
Method: This study used the National Survey of Children's Health to produce national and state-level estimates of lifetime diagnosis and current ADHD among all children aged 3 to 17 years (=114,476), and national and state-level estimates of medication and behavioral treatment use among children with current ADHD.
Results: The state-level estimates of diagnosed ADHD ranged from 6.
Parenting and family environment have significant impact on child development, including development of executive function, attention, and self-regulation, and may affect the risk of developmental disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This paper examines the relationship of parenting and family environment factors with ADHD. A systematic review of the literature was conducted in 2014 and identified 52 longitudinal studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious studies have shown mixed results on the relationship between prenatal, birth, and postnatal ("pregnancy-related") risk factors and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We conducted meta-analyses to identify potentially modifiable pregnancy-related factors associated with ADHD. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE in 2014, followed by an updated search in January 2021, identified 69 articles published in English on pregnancy-related risk factors and ADHD for inclusion.
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