ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1553358
This article is part of the Research TopicLife with Tic Disorders: From Childhood to AdulthoodView all 7 articles
Clinical Characteristics of Tic Disorders in Children and Adolescents with the Chief Complaint of Abnormal Blinking
Provisionally accepted
- 1Affiliated Eye Hospital to Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- 2Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, Affiliated Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
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Background Abnormal blinking is a common symptom shared by allergic conjunctivitis (AC), dry eye disease (DED), and tic disorders (TD). This study explored clinical manifestations of TD in patients with the chief complaint of abnormal blinking; its goal was to reduce misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. Methods In total, 1054 patients with the chief complaint of abnormal blinking completed a questionnaire and underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examinations and mental health assessments. Questionnaire data were compiled for patients with a confirmed diagnosis of TD; their clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results Of the 1054 patients presenting with abnormal blinking, 453 (42.98%) were diagnosed with a TD. Among these 453 patients, 253 (55.63%) had provisional tic disorder (PTD). 121 (26.71%) patients initially were misdiagnosed (primarily with AC) or experienced a missed diagnosis; Patients with PTD were more likely to seek ophthalmologic care, whereas those with CTD or TS were more likely to visit a pediatrician(P<0.001). The predominant eye tics were excessive and/or frequent blinking; 438 (96.69%) patients exhibited tics other than eye tics. Among the TD patients, 371 (81.90%) reported ocular symptoms, whereas 336 (74.17%) had comorbid eye diseases including AC and DED. PTD patients with AC had higher incidences of allergic rhinitis and asthma compared with patients displaying CTD and TS (P<0.05). Conclusions TD are major causes of abnormal blinking, and PTD is the most common subtype. TD patients with abnormal blinking often have comorbid eye diseases, primarily AC and DED.
Keywords: Clinical features, Abnormal blinking, Tic Disorders, allergic conjunctivitis, Dry eye disease
Received: 30 Dec 2024; Accepted: 27 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tang, Wang, Jiang, Liu, Li, Qu and Xiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shengjin Xiang, Affiliated Eye Hospital to Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
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