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Background: Little is known about the academic performance of students with tic disorders (TD). Our aim was to investigate the association of TD and poor academic performance over time. Methods: Longitudinal, observational study of mainstream schoolchildren comparing grade retention (GR) and learning disorders (LD) in students with vs. without TD between 2010 and 2014. Students with vs. without TD based on DSM-IV-TR criteria, or with vs. without GR and LD were compared in terms of comorbidities, school, and environmental characteristics. The association of TD with GR was analyzed using hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs, and with LD using logistic regression analysis [Odds ratio (OR)]. Results: Two hundred fifty-eight students were included (mean age 14.0 ± 1.71 years, 143 [55.4%] males). The incident rate for TD and GR was 2.6 and 3.3 per 100 persons-year, respectively. LD found in 21 (9.9%) students was associated with TD (OR 11.62, 95% CI 2.21-60.90, p = 0.004), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; OR 6.63, 95% CI 1.55-28.37, p = 0.01). Low psychological support (HRs 12.79, 95% CI 3.39-48.17) and low sport participation (HRs 6.41, 95% CI 1.54-26.78) were risk factors for GR. Conclusions: TD was associated with academic difficulties, namely, LD in conjunction with ADHD but not GR. The diagnosis of TD and comorbidities, and the initiation of proper treatment could have a favorable impact on school performance, and consequently on social development., Junta de Castilla y Leon, SOC/BU01/13.

Background: The main purpose was to validate a multistage protocol to screen tic disorders in mainstream and special education centers and to investigate whether telephone-based interviews were accurate to diagnose tic disorders when compared with in-person neurological interviews. Methods: A school-based survey of children and adolescents (6–16 years). A proxy report questionnaire for tic disorders was completed by teachers, observers, and parents. The diagnosis was confirmed by the neurologist based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders (DSM-IV TR) criteria. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, the likelihood ratio for a positive result (LR+), and the Kappa coefficients (k) for telephone-based interviews reliability were calculated. Results: One hundred twenty subjects, 57 from special education center and 63 from a mainstream school were studied. The sensitivity of the proxy report questionnaire was 58% and 36% when completed by the observers (mainstream and special education center, respectively), 40 and 73% when completed by the teachers, and 58 and 36% when completed by the parents. Using any of these 3 screening sources, the sensitivity was 92%, the positive predictive value was 38%, and negative predictive value was 97% (mainstream schools), whereas the sensitivity was 82%, the positive predictive value was 20%, and negative predictive value was 82% (special education centers). Parents (mainstream schools) and teachers (special education center) produced the highest LR+ (7.25 and 1.26, respectively) and the intraobserver reliability of the telephone-based interviews versus in-person neurological interviews gave a k coefficient of 0.83. Conclusions: The efficiency of different screening instruments for tic disorders seems to vary in different settings. Telephone-based interviews may be a valid and convenient backup to ascertain the diagnosis of tic disorders when face-to-face neurological examination is

While current research suggests that genetic factors confer the greatest risk for the development of tic disorders, studies of environmental factors are relatively few, with a lack of consistent risk factors across studies. Our aim is to analyze the association of tic disorders with exposure to prenatal and perinatal morbidity.

This study was designed to evaluate the psychometric attributes and screening efficiency of a Spanish version of the Children Predictive Scales (DPS) against the Spanish Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV).

Tic disorders constitute a neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood. This study sought to determine the prevalence of tic disorders in a school-based sample. A randomized sample of 1158 schoolchildren, based on clusters (classrooms) in the province of Burgos (Spain), was identified on a stratified sampling frame combining types of educational center and setting (mainstream schools and special education), using a two-phase approach (screening and diagnosis ascertainment by a neurologist). Tics with/without impairment criterion were diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria. In mainstream schools, tics were observed in 125/741 students (16.86%; 95% confidence interval, 14.10-19.63), and were more frequent in boys (87/448, 19.42%; 95% confidence interval, 15.64-23.19) compared with girls (38/293, 12.96%; 95% confidence interval, 8.95-16.98; P = 0.03). In special education centers, tics disorders were observed in 11/54 of children (20.37%; 95% confidence interval, 8.70-32.03). Overall, tics with impairment criteria were less frequent than tics without impairment criteria (4.65% vs 11.85%, P < 0.0001). The most frequent diagnoses involved chronic motor tics (6.07%) and Tourette syndrome (5.26%). Tic disorders are common in childhood, and the use or nonuse of impairment criteria exerts a significant impact on tic prevalence estimates.

Objective: To analyze the association between tic disorders and poor academic performance in school-aged children. Study design: This was a cross-sectional, observational study conducted in a randomly selected sample of mainstream school-aged children (aged 6-16 years). The sampling frame included different types of schools and educational levels. Children with poor academic performance (eg, repeating a grade, special needs), and tic disorders (defined based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision criteria) were identified. Children with and without tics and children with and without poor academic performance were compared in terms of clinical features (ie, medical history and neurologic and psychiatric comorbidities), school, and environmental characteristics. Logistic regression analyses were performed using school performance (dependent variable) and tic disorders (independent variable), after adjusting for confounding variables. Results: The study cohort comprised 1867 children (mean age, 10.9 + 2.9 years; 1007 males [53.9%]). Tics were present in 162 children (8.6%), and poor academic performance was noted in 223 (11.9%). Overall poor academic performance was associated with age (OR, 1.71; P < .0001), television viewing (OR, 5.33; P = .04), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (OR, 1.38; P < .0001), and family history of school dysfunction (OR, 2.43; P = .02) and was negatively associated with higher IQ score (OR, 0.90; P < .0001) and tic disorders (OR, 0.29; P = .01). Conclusion: After adjusting for other covariates, the presence of tic disorders was not associated with poor academic performance in our cohort. Early academic support and modification of environmental characteristics are needed for children at higher risk for school dysfunction, to enhance academic performance., Supported by SACYL, Biomedicine project GRS 157-A, Health Research Grant PI 070846, and the European General Development Co-funding.

University tutoring attends to the academic, social, and personal needs of students. The pandemic situation has triggered interest in virtual tools to optimize student support. Currently, the new normalized framework questions us about the usefulness of the teaching strategies implemented for the development of the student’s academic and professional projection. The objective of this study is to know the potential of university tutoring in the adherence and accompaniment of the student throughout the study plan. A qualitative study is carried out in which two discussion groups are carried out with 11 university professors (seven women and four men) and a restitution session to consolidate the results. The results present four emerging categories: the reception, which is undertaken from the initial expectations; the identification of critical moments, which require intensified tutorial attention and the emergence of fraud and rumor; the academic-professional projection, which is consolidated from the identification of the student with a professionalizing ideal, and decision-making, which decisively considers the possibilities of the environment. The digital gap stands as one of the risks to consider., La tutoría universitaria atiende las necesidades académicas, sociales y personales de los estudiantes. La situación de pandemia ha desencadenado un apoyo sobre las herramientas virtuales para optimizar el acompañamiento al estudiantado. La vuelta a un escenario normalizado nos interroga sobre la utilidad de las estrategias docentes implementadas para el desarrollo de su proyección académica y profesional. El objetivo es conocer el potencial de la tutoría universitaria en la adherencia y acompañamiento del estudiante a lo largo del plan de estudios. Se desarrolla un estudio cualitativo en el que se llevan a cabo dos grupos de discusión con 11 docentes universitarios (siete mujeres y cuatro hombres) y una sesión de restitución para la consolidación de la categorización de datos. Los resultados presentan cuatro categorías emergentes: la acogida, emprendida desde las expectativas iniciales; la determinación de momentos críticos, que requieren la atención tutorial intensificada y emergencia del fraude y el rumor; la proyección académico-profesional, que se consolida desde la identificación del estudiante con un ideal profesionalizador, y la toma de decisiones, que considera determinantemente las posibilidades del entorno. La brecha digital se erige como uno de los riesgos a amortiguar.

La presente tesis doctoral ha tenido como objetivo analizar la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS) en una muestra de niños y jóvenes escolarizados en centros educativos de Burgos y su provincia (n=407) utilizando la escala PedsQL(Varni, Limbers & Newman, 2009). Esta escala, validada para su uso en la población española, cuenta con versiones cumplimentadas por los propios alumnos y por sus padres. Nuestro objetivo fue analizar la concordancia entre ambas percepciones sobre CVRS, teniendo en cuenta otras variables como la presencia de trastornos de tics (certificados por un neurólogo), comorbilidad psiquiátrica asociada, presencia de dificultades en el rendimiento académico y otras variables sociodemográficas. Se encontró que, en términos generales, no existe una concordancia entre la percepción de la CVRS entre los alumnos y sus padres. Los padres valoran mejor la CVRS de sus hijos comparados con sus hijos, pero cuando sus hijos presentan tics, su valoración sobre la CVRS es, por el contrario, inferior a la de sus hijos. La ausencia de comorbilidad psiquiátrica, fue la principal variable asociada a una mejor CVRS, según las valoraciones de los escolares y los padres. Desde un punto de vista clínico, se encontró que los escolares con tics, tienen un rendimiento escolar similar a sus compañeros sin tics, pero tienen más posibilidad de presentar TDAH.