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Physical activity, sleep and neuropsychiatric symptom severity in children with tourette syndrome

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between physical activity, sleep and symptom severity in children with tic disorders. Children with tic disorders wore the GeneActiv device, a wrist-worn accelerometer that measures physical activity intensity and sleep/wake parameters continuously for seven days, and completed questionnaires on sleep quality, exercise and severity of tics, ADHD, obsessive–compulsive behaviours, anxiety and depression. 110 children participated in the study. Children with more severe tics had significantly more frequent comorbid diagnoses, greater impairment in subjective sleep measures, greater sedentary activity time and less light, moderate and vigorous activity time (all p < 0.05). There was a significant negative correlation between light, moderate and vigorous physical activity and the severity of tics (− 0.22, p = 0.04), obsessive compulsive behaviours (− 0.22, p = 0.03), anxiety (− 0.35, p = 0.0005) and depression (− 0.23, p = 0.03). There was no correlation between objective sleep time, sleep efficiency and symptom severity. Subjective sleep quality was positively correlated with all symptom severity measures, with the strongest correlation with ADHD severity (0.42, p < 0.00001). The results of this observational study indicate a small, but significant relationship between activity and sleep measures and the severity of the main symptom domains present in tic disorders.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a research Grant from the Owerko Centre at Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Tamara Pringsheim

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Elaheh Nosratmirshekarlou

  3. Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

    Asif Doja

  4. Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Davide Martino

  5. Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada

    Tamara Pringsheim

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  1. Tamara Pringsheim
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Correspondence to Tamara Pringsheim.

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Pringsheim, T., Nosratmirshekarlou, E., Doja, A. et al. Physical activity, sleep and neuropsychiatric symptom severity in children with tourette syndrome. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 30, 711–719 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01552-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01552-1

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