总体而言,相比成人,抽动障碍更常发生于儿童,相比女性,更多见于男性,且已观察到在受特殊教育的人群中发生频率更高。[1]Jankovic J, Lang AE. Movement disorders: diagnosis and assessment. In: Bradley WG, Daroff RB, Fenichel GM, et al. Neurology in clinical practice. Principles of diagnosis and management. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2004:313-5.[4]Knight T, Steeves T, Day L, et al. Prevalence of tic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pediatr Neurol. 2012 Aug;47(2):77-90.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22759682?tool=bestpractice.com[5]Leivonen S, Voutilainen A, Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki S, et al. A nationwide register study of the characteristics, incidence and validity of diagnosed Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Acta Paediatr. 2014 Sep;103(9):984-90.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24862980?tool=bestpractice.com 暂时性抽动障碍(持续时间 < 1 年)似乎在儿童期非常常见,据估计,在小学生中的发生率高达 20%。[6]Scahill L, Specht M, Page C. The prevalence of tic disorders and clinical characteristics in children. J Obsessive Compuls Relat Disord. 2014 Oct 1;3(4):394-400.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4243175/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25436183?tool=bestpractice.com[7]Black KJ, Black ER, Greene DJ, et al. Provisional tic disorder: what to tell parents when their child first starts ticcing. F1000Res. 2016 Apr 18;5:696.http://f1000research.com/articles/5-696/v1http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27158458?tool=bestpractice.com 慢性抽动障碍(运动或发音抽搐 > 1 年)不太常见;基于人群的调查表明,慢性抽动障碍的患病率为 1%-3%。[2]Singer HS. Tourette syndrome and its associated neurobehavioral problems. In: Swaiman KF, Ashwal S, Ferriero DM. Pediatric neurology: principles and practice. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2006:887-98.[8]Alves HL, Quagliato EM. The prevalence of tic disorders in children and adolescents in Brazil. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2014 Dec;72(12):942-8.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2014005040174&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=enhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25465775?tool=bestpractice.com Tourette 综合征(多发运动和至少一次发音抽搐 > 1 年)的儿童人群患病率为 0.3%-0.9%;[9]Scharf JM, Miller LL, Gauvin CA, et al. Population prevalence of Tourette syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mov Disord. 2015 Feb;30(2):221-8.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25487709?tool=bestpractice.com 男性患病率更高,男女患病比例为 3:1,[4]Knight T, Steeves T, Day L, et al. Prevalence of tic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pediatr Neurol. 2012 Aug;47(2):77-90.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22759682?tool=bestpractice.com 起病的平均年龄为 6 至 7 岁。[2]Singer HS. Tourette syndrome and its associated neurobehavioral problems. In: Swaiman KF, Ashwal S, Ferriero DM. Pediatric neurology: principles and practice. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2006:887-98.[5]Leivonen S, Voutilainen A, Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki S, et al. A nationwide register study of the characteristics, incidence and validity of diagnosed Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Acta Paediatr. 2014 Sep;103(9):984-90.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24862980?tool=bestpractice.com 在美国,Tourette 综合征在非西班牙裔白种年轻人中比在西班牙裔和非西班牙裔黑种年轻人中更多见。[10]Bitsko RH, Holbrook JR, Visser SN, et al. A national profile of Tourette syndrome, 2011-2012. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2014 Jun;35(5):317-22.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4484726/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24906033?tool=bestpractice.com[11]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prevalence of diagnosed Tourette syndrome in persons aged 6-17 years – United States, 2007. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2009 Jun 5;58(21):581-5.http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5821.pdfhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19498335?tool=bestpractice.com