The Premonitory Urge to Tic in Children and Adolescents: Measuring, Describing, and Correlating

Background: This study aimed to explore the premonitory urges (PUs) experienced by children with tic disorders (TDs), with the aim of describing and correlating these urges with various factors. Methods: First-episode and drug-naive patients with TDs were recruited. We conducted a comprehensive study utilizing the Premonitory Urge for Tics Scale to measure the severity of PUs. Regression analysis was performed to explore the relationships between PUs and other relevant factors, such as demographic characteristics, tic severity, and comorbidities. Results: The linear regression model revealed that age (beta = 0.090, P = 0.004), the severity of motor tics (beta = 0.112, P < 0.001), the severity of vocal tics (beta = 0.074, P = 0.020), and the severity of tic-related impairments (beta = 0.112, P = 0.001) were significant predictors of PUs. Conclusions: This study provides insights into the nature of PUs in children with TD. Future research should focus on PUs across different age groups and develop and evaluate targeted treatments that aim to reduce the severity of tics. (c) 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.