Department of Pharmacy, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
PLoS One. 2023 Jul 28;18(7):e0289381. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289381. eCollection 2023.
Caregivers of pediatric patients with tic disorders (TD) are at high risk for anxiety and depression, but the situation of this disorder was rarely reported based on the Chinese population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and potential contributing factors of anxiety and depression among caregivers of Chinese pediatric patients with TD.
A cross-sectional study was carried out on caregivers of pediatric patients with TD at a women's and children's hospital in western China from January to June 2020. A structured questionnaire was designed to collect data, including socio-demographic information, disease and medication status, family situation and social relationship, cognition and attitude towards TD and treatment. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS), respectively. The univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the cross-sectional data.
A total of 318 participants were included in this study, with a response rate of 89.58% (318/355). The average age of pediatric patients with TD was 8.38 ± 2.54 years, and 78.30% (249/318) of caregivers were aged between 30-50 years old. Overall, 14.78% (47/318) of caregivers presented the symptom of anxiety, with a mean SAS score of 54.81±5.26, and 19.81% (63/318) of caregivers presented the symptom of depression, with a mean SDS score of 59.64±5.83. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the common family relationship (OR = 2.512, p = 0.024), and pediatric patients with unharmonious social relationships (OR = 5.759, p = 0.043) and with introverted personality (OR = 2.402, p = 0.023) were significantly associated with anxiety in caregivers of pediatric patients with TD, as well as the single-parent family (OR = 4.805, p = 0.011), mistaken cognition of TD (OR = 0.357, p = 0.031), and pediatric patients with fewer friends (OR = 3.377, p = 0.006) were significantly associated with depression.
Anxiety and depression are prevalent among caregivers of TD pediatric patients, which brings up the importance of psychiatric support for this group. Longitudinal studies need to be conducted to further confirm the causality before interventions to improve mental health are developed.
儿科抽动障碍（TD）患儿的照料者患焦虑和抑郁的风险较高，但基于中国人群的该疾病情况很少有报道。本研究旨在调查中国儿科 TD 患儿照料者中焦虑和抑郁的患病率及其潜在影响因素。
2020 年 1 月至 6 月，在西部地区一家妇女儿童医院对儿科 TD 患儿的照料者进行了横断面研究。设计了一份结构式问卷，以收集包括社会人口学信息、疾病和用药状况、家庭情况和社会关系、对 TD 和治疗的认知和态度等数据。分别采用焦虑自评量表（SAS）和抑郁自评量表（SDS）评估焦虑和抑郁。采用单因素分析和多因素逻辑回归分析对横断面数据进行分析。
共纳入 318 名参与者，应答率为 89.58%（318/355）。TD 患儿的平均年龄为 8.38±2.54 岁，318 名照料者中 78.30%（249/318）年龄在 30-50 岁之间。总体而言，14.78%（47/318）的照料者存在焦虑症状，平均 SAS 得分为 54.81±5.26，19.81%（63/318）的照料者存在抑郁症状，平均 SDS 得分为 59.64±5.83。Logistic 回归分析显示，常见的家庭关系（OR=2.512，p=0.024）、患儿社会关系不和谐（OR=5.759，p=0.043）和性格内向（OR=2.402，p=0.023）与 TD 患儿照料者的焦虑显著相关，单亲家庭（OR=4.805，p=0.011）、对 TD 的错误认知（OR=0.357，p=0.031）和患儿朋友较少（OR=3.377，p=0.006）与抑郁显著相关。
TD 儿科患者照料者中焦虑和抑郁普遍存在，这凸显了为该群体提供精神支持的重要性。在制定改善心理健康的干预措施之前，需要进行纵向研究以进一步确认因果关系。
