According to a recent study carried out in Spain, about 17 percent of children suffer from these motor disorders, which makes them quite common. Tics are more common in boys than in girls and tend to disappear or decrease with age, both in intensity and frequency.
Tics are a movement disorder , usually inherited, related to the neurological development of childhood. They are characterized by sudden, convulsive, excessive and repetitive movements, sometimes even sounds. Although its specific cause is unknown, some experts in the field localize the disorder in the circuit between the basal ganglia and the motor cortex, where involuntary movement suppression occurs. Tics fluctuate and increase influenced by stress that can cause problems in the family or in the school itself.
A study carried out in schools in the province of Burgos, using a sample of 1,158 schoolchildren, concludes that 16.86 percent of children show the presence of this disorder. As the main author of the investigation, Esther Cubo, from the Yagüe General Hospital in Burgos, explained to the SINC agency, ” before it was believed that it was a rare disorder and, as it was only studied in patients who consulted for it, only tics were seen It has now been seen that most are mild disorders, which have no functional impact. “
The study also shows a higher incidence in boys than in girls and that the presence of these disorders is more common in special education centers , where the figures have reached 20.37 percent. The most serious diagnoses are chronic motor tics, 6.07 percent, and Tourette syndrome, 5.26 percent. As the years go by, in any case, the tics usually disappear or are mitigated.
