@article{95de7d1b118f4db48a6025eed4b8101a,
title = "Hair Cortisol and Perceived Stress—Predictors for the Onset of Tics? A European Longitudinal Study on High-Risk Children",
abstract = "Some retrospective studies suggest that psychosocial stressors trigger the onset of tics. This study examined prospective hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity and perceived stress prior to tic onset. In the present study, 259 children at high risk for developing tics were assessed for hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and parent-on-child-reported perceived stress four-monthly over a three-year period. We used (i) generalised additive modelling (GAM) to investigate the time effects on HCC (hair samples n = 765) and perceived stress (questionnaires n = 1019) prior to tic onset and (ii) binary logistic regression to predict tic onset in a smaller subsample with at least three consecutive assessments (six to nine months before, two to five months before, and at tic onset). GAM results indicated a non-linear increasing course of HCC in children who developed tics, and a steady HCC course in those without tics, as well as a linear-increasing course of perceived stress in both groups. Logistic regression showed that with a higher HCC in hair samples collected in a range of two to five months before tic onset (which refers to cortisol exposure in a range of four to eight months), the relative likelihood of tic onset rose. Our study suggests increased stress prior to tic onset, as evidenced by higher HCC several months before tic onset.",
keywords = "hair cortisol, onset of tics, perceived stress, physiological stress marker, tic disorder",
author = "{on behalf of the EMTICS collaborative group} and Josefine Rothe and Judith Buse and Anne Uhlmann and Benjamin Bodmer and Clemens Kirschbaum and Hoekstra, {Pieter J.} and Andrea Dietrich and Veit Roessner and C. Huijser",
note = "Funding Information: The authors are deeply grateful to all children and their parents who willingly participated and made this research possible. This project has received funding from the European Union{\textquoteright}s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development, and demonstration under Grant agreement no. 278367. This research was supported by Stiftung Immunit{\"a}t und Seele (Burger, M{\"u}ller, Schnell); the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust and University College London (Heyman); and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG): projects 1692/3-1, 4-1 and FOR 2698 (M{\"u}nchau); Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG): FOR 2698 (Roessner). We thank all colleagues at the various study centres who contributed to data collection: Judy Grejsen (Paediatric Department, Herlev University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark); Julie E. Bruun, Christine L. Ommundsen, and Mette Rub{\ae}k (Capital Region Psychiatry, Copenhagen, Denmark); Stephanie Enghardt (TU Dresden, Germany); Stefanie Bokemeyer and Cornelia Reichert (MHH Hannover, Germany); Jenny Schmalfeld (L{\"u}beck University, Germany); Elif Weidinger, Bianka Burger, and Jaana M.L. Schnell (LMU Munich, Germany); Martin L. Woods (Evelina London Children{\textquoteright}s Hospital, United Kingdom); Franciska Gergye, Margit Kovacs, and Reka Vidomusz (Vadaskert Budapest, Hungary); Silvana Fennig, Ella Gev, Matan Nahon, Danny Horesh, Chen Regev, and Tomer Simcha, (Tel Aviv, Petah-Tikva, Israel); Marieke Messchendorp, Tha{\"i}ra J.C. Openneer, Frank Visscher, and the Stichting Gilles de la Tourette (UMCG Groningen, Netherlands); Maria Teresa C{\'a}ceres, F{\'a}tima Carrillo, Laura Vargas, and {\'A}ngela Peria{\~n}ez Vasco (Seville, Spain); Marina Redondo (FRCB, Barcelona, Spain); Anna Marotta (ASL, Bari, Italy); Alessandra Pellico (Catania, Italy); Paola Rosaria Silvestri (Rome, Italy); Annelieke Hagen (De Bascule and Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands), and all who may not have been mentioned. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 by the authors.",
year = "2023",
month = jun,
doi = "https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11061561",
language = "English",
volume = "11",
journal = "Biomedicines",
issn = "2227-9059",
publisher = "MDPI AG",
number = "6",
}