Relationship between adverse childhood experiences and symptom severity in adult men with Tourette Syndrome

Kelly Yang; Angela Essa; Daisy Noriega; Dongmei Yu; Lisa Osiecki; Caitlin A Gauvin; Cornelia Illmann; Marco Bortolato; Erin C Dunn; Carol A Mathews; Jeremiah M Scharf

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.08.024

Relationship between adverse childhood experiences and symptom severity in adult men with Tourette Syndrome

J Psychiatr Res. 2022 Nov:155:252-259. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.08.024. Epub 2022 Aug 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
² Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
³ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, 30 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA; Translational Initiative on Antisocial Personality Disorder (TrIAD), University of Utah, 30 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁴ Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA; Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, 50 Church Street, 4th Floor, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, 100 Newell Dr, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, 2033 Mowry Rd, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA; Center for OCD, Anxiety and Related Disorders, University of Florida, McKnight Brain Institute Suite L4-100, 1149 Newell Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
⁶ Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA; Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 60 Fenwood Rd 1st Floor, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. Electronic address: jscharf@partners.org.

PMID: 36113395
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.08.024

Abstract

Childhood adversity is associated with the development or expression of many neuropsychiatric disorders, including those with strong genetic underpinnings. Despite reported associations between perceived stress and tic severity, the relationship between potentially traumatic events in childhood and Tourette Syndrome (TS), a highly heritable neuropsychiatric disorder, is unknown. This study aimed to assess whether exposure to eight categories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with TS severity and impairment, and whether TS genetic risk modifies this association. Online survey data were collected from 351 adult males with TS who previously participated in genetic studies. Participants completed the ACE questionnaire and a lifetime version of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS). Demographic and relevant health data were assessed; polygenic risk scores (PRS) measuring aggregated TS genetic risk were derived using genome-wide association data. Univariable and multivariable linear regressions examined the relationships between childhood adversity and retrospectively recalled worst-ever tic severity and impairment, adjusting for covariates. Potential gene-by-environment (GxE) interactions between ACE and PRS were estimated. After covariate adjustment, there was a significant graded dose-response relationship between ACE Scores and increases in lifetime worst-ever tic severity and impairment. There was some evidence that TS genetic risk moderated the relationship between ACE Score and tic impairment, but not tic severity, particularly for individuals with higher TS polygenic risk. We provide evidence that childhood adversity is associated with higher lifetime TS severity and impairment, although future longitudinal studies with genetically-sensitive designs are needed to determine whether these relationships are causal and/or directional.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Gene-by-environment; Polygenic risk; Tics; Tourette syndrome.

MeSH terms

Adult
Adverse Childhood Experiences*
Genome-Wide Association Study
Humans
Male
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index
Tics*
Tourette Syndrome* / diagnosis