You are sitting in a coffee shop and sipping your favorite drink. As you put it down and lean over, you continue reading an amazingly engaging book. You just haven’t been able to put it down. Suddenly, something draws you from your experience. Did someone just swear? It’s hard to tell given how little attention you were paying to the outside world, and you quickly return to your book. A moment later you hear it again. Someone just loudly cursed. Looking up, you see a teenager leaving the coffee shop with two people who look like his parents. The teenager’s hand is twitching. As they leave, he screams out another obscenity. Shaken, you take a moment to consider what is wrong with the teenager.
More likely than not, the boy is suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome. And, surprisingly enough, the fictional scene above occurs with surprising regularity. Tourette’s Syndrome has recently become popular with several characters emerging on television who have Tourette’s. Seemingly incapable of controlling themselves, they shout things out at inappropriate times, often providing humor to the scene.
Though Tourette’s is depicted as a funny thing, it brings little humor to those who either suffer through it or live with someone with Tourette’s. So, how many people have Tourette’s? Let’s take a look at the Tourette statistics and see if we can help shed a light on how widespread this disorder is.
Tourette Statistics
1. In the United States, an exact number is not known for the number of people affected by Tourette’s Syndrome.
2. A recent study released by the Center for Disease Control (or CDC) found that approximately 1 in every 360 children had Tourette’s Syndrome. Their pool was children between the ages of 6 to 17. The total pool surveyed for this statistic was 138,000 children.
3. Other studies not tied to the CDC’s finding report a much higher occurrence in children, stating 1 in every 162 children.
4. Though alarming, this makes Tourette’s Syndrome less common than many other conditions that children may have.
5. Of children affected with Tourette’s Syndrome, 37% report moderate or severe forms of the condition. That means that the majority of individuals with Tourette’s Syndrome will have an easier time dealing with the symptoms.
6. Tourette’s Syndrome affects people of all races and ethnic groups.
7. Among men and women, men are significantly more likely to have it (the exact number is 3 to 5 times more likely.)
8. Individuals are twice as likely to be diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome between the ages of 11 to 17 as you are between the ages of 6 to 10.
9. Tourette’s Syndrome doesn’t exist in a bubble by itself. More often than not, Tourette’s Syndrome is diagnosed along with an additional issue.
10. Out of 100% of children who have Tourette’s Syndrome, 86% also have at least one of the following, attention deficit disorder, behavioral problems, anxiety problems, depression, autism spectrum, learning disability, speech or language problems, intellectual disability, or developmental disability.
11. More then 1/3 of all people with Tourette’s Syndrome have obsessive compulsive disorders also.
What Exactly is Tourette’s?
The best way to understand the statistics behind Tourette’s is to understand exactly what Tourette’s is. Tourette’s Syndrome is a inherited neuropsychiatric disorder. It normally comes up during childhood. Tourette’s is characterized by body and vocal twitching. Known as motor and phonic ticks, an individual with Tourette’s will have multiple motor ticks and at least one phonic tick in order to be diagnosed. Though these ticks can be suppressed temporarily, they will continue throughout a person’s life.
In the above example, the teenager had a phonic tick where they blurted out obscene or rude remarks. Despite its popularity as a symptom, yelling obscene words is a rare condition in Tourette’s. More often then not, people will experience physical tics instead.
Adulthood
Tourette’s Syndrome is something that come on during childhood. It can last well into adulthood. From there thought, each person will experience it differently. Some people report their ticks going away entirely. Some people notice no change, even as they become senior citizens. Finally, some notice that their ticks only become worse with age. A reason has yet to pin down why some people get better, while others get worse.
As we’ve just covered, Tourette’s Syndrome and Tourette statistics help show how many people are suffering from Tourette’s in the United States. As interest continues to grow and individuals continue to come out with cases of Tourette’s Syndrome, more and more research is being directed towards better understanding the causes and possible cures of this syndrome.