Objective: To investigate the mental health and caregiver burden in parents of children with Tourette's disorder (TD) compared with parents of children with asthma.
Method: A cross-sectional cohort survey was conducted at TD and pediatric asthma hospital outpatient clinics over a 6-month period. Main outcome measures were parent mental health (General Health Questionnaire [GHQ]-28) and caregiver burden (Child and Adolescent Impact Assessment) scores.
Results: The response rate achieved was 89.7%. Of the parents of children with TD, 76.9% achieved caseness on the GHQ-28 compared with 34.6% of the parents of children with asthma; this effect remained significant after controlling for demographic variables. Parents of children with TD also experienced greater caregiver burden, and this burden was significantly correlated with GHQ caseness.
Conclusions: Parents of children with TD are at risk of psychiatric morbidity; an intervention targeting caregiver burden might be helpful in reducing this.