Tourette syndrome (TS) and tic disorders represent events of familiar magnitude characterized by involuntary movements and/or vocalization. To determine the prevalence of TS/tic disorders we studied a sample of 762 subjects (388 M, 374 F), between 1992 and 1997, age 6 to 43 years old, taken out of a population of 10,155 subjects (4,918 M, 5,237 F; age: 3-56 years old). A structured 4-item questionnaire, direct interview (multistaged), >1 yr follow-up, were used. 9,565 subjects (4,614 M, 4,951 F) sent back the questionnaires, 3,354 of these (1,671 M, 1,683 F) with positive answers to tics. 42 subjects (31 M, 11 F, age: 7-21 years old, mean: 11 years old) met the DSM-III-R criteria. The total minimal prevalence of TS is 0.43%, with a 3:1 ratio male/female. The minimal prevalence of chronic tic disorder is 2.27%. The total minimal prevalence for tic disorders at all is 2.91%. No special education students participation.7212942948Costello, E.J., Angold, A., Burns, B.J., Stangl, D.K., Tweed, D.L., Erkanli, A., The Great smoky mountains study of youth. Goals, design, methods and the prevalence of DSM-III-R disorders (1996) Arch Gen Psychiatry., 53 (12), pp. 1129-1136. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1996.01830120067012Verhulst, F.C., End, J., Ferdinand, R.F., Kasius, M.C., The prevalence of DSM-III-R diagnoses in a national sample of dutch adolescents (1997) Arch Gen Psychiatry., 54 (4), pp. 329-336. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1997.01830160049008Kurlan, R., McDermot, M.P., Deeley, C., Como, P.G., Brower, C., Eapen, S., Prevalence of tics in school children and association with placement in special education (2001) Neurology., 57 (8), pp. 1383-1388. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/wnl.57.8.1383Apter, A., Pauls, D.L., Bleich, A., Zohar, A.H., Kron, S., Ratzoni, G., An epidemiologic study of Gilles de La Tourette's syndrome in Israel (1993) Arch Gen Psychiatry., 50 (9), pp. 734-738. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1993.01820210068008Cubo, E., Gabriel y Galán, J.M.T., Villaverde, V.A., Velasco, S.S., Benito, V.C., McArrón, J.V., Prevalence of tics in schoolchildren in Central Spain: A population-based study (2011) Pediatr Neurol., 45 (2), pp. 100-108. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2011.03.003(1987) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, , 3rd ed. rev. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric AssociationDefinitions and classification of tic disorders (1993) Arch Neurol., 50 (10), pp. 1013-1016. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1993.00540100012008Fallon, T., Jr., Schwab-Stone, M., Methodology of epidemiological studies of tic disorders and comorbid psychopathology (1992) Adv Neurol., 58, pp. 43-53Shapiro, A.K., Shapiro, E.S., Young, J.G., Feinberg, T.E., (1988) Gilles de La Tourette syndrome, , New York: RavenComings, D.E., Himes, J.A., Comings, B.G., An epidemiologic study of Tourette syndrome in a single school district (1990) J Clin Psychiatry., 51 (11), pp. 463-469Nomoto, F., McHiyama, Y., An epidemiologic study of tics (1990) Jpn J Psychiatr Neurol., 44 (4), pp. 649-655. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1819.1990.tb01641.xWong, C.K., Lau, J.T.F., Psychiatry morbidity in a Chinese primary scholl in Hong Kong (1992) Aust N Z J Psychiatr, 26 (3), pp. 459-466. , http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00048679209072071Landgren, M., Petterson, R., Kjellman, B., Gillberg, C., ADHD, DAMP and other neurodevelopmental / psychiatric disorders in 6-year-old children: Epidemiology and co-morbidity (1996) Dev Med Child Neurol., 38 (10), pp. 891-906. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8749.1996.tb15046.xKadesjö, B., Gillberg, C., Tourette's disorder: Epidemiology and comorbidity in primary school children (2000) J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry., 39 (5), pp. 548-555. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200005000-00007Hornsey, H., Banerjee, S., Zeitlin, H., Robertson, M., The prevalence of Tourette syndrome in 13-14-year-olds in mainstream schools (2001) J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 42 (8), pp. 1035-1039. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00802Linazasoro, G., Van Blercom, N., Zárate, C.O., Prevalence of tic disorder in two schools in the Basque country: Results and methodological caveats (2006) Mov Disord., 21 (12), pp. 2106-2109. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mds.21117Stefanoff, P., Wolanczyk, T., Gawrys, A., Swirszca, K., Stefanoff, E., Kaminska, A., Prevalence of tic disorders among schoolchildren in Warsow, Poland (2008) Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry., 17 (3), pp. 171-178. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00787-007-0651-y(1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of psychiatry, , 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric AssociationTanner, C.M., Goldman, S.M., Epidemiology of Tourette Syndrome (1997) Neurol Clinics., 15 (2), pp. 395-402. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0733-8619(05)70320-0Khalifa, N., Knorring, A.L., Prevalence of tic disorders and Tourette syndrome in a Swedish school population (2003) Dev Med Child Neurol., 45 (5), pp. 315-319. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0012162203000598Wang, H.-S., Kuo, M.-F., Tourette's syndrome in Taiwan: An epidemiological study of tic disorders in an elementary school at Taipei County (2003) Brain Develop., 25, pp. S29-S31. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0387-7604(03)90005-2Lanzi, G., Zambrino, C.A., Termine, C., Palestra, M., Ferrari Ginevra, O., Orcesi, S., Prevalence of tic disorders hmong primary school students in the city of Pavia, Italy (2004) Arch Dis Child., 89 (1), pp. 45-47Jin, R., Zheng, R.Y., Huang, W.W., Xu, H.-Q., Shao, B., Chen, H., Epidemiological survey of Tourette syndrome in children and adolescents in Wenzhou of P.R. China (2005) Eur J Epidemiol., 20 (11), pp. 925-927. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10654-005-2953-zScahill, L., Williams, S., Schwab-Stone, M., Applegate, J., Leckan, J.F., Disruptive behavior problems in a community sample of children with tic disorders (2006) Adv Neurol., 99, pp. 184-190Scahil, L., Bitsko, R.H., Visser, S.N., Blumberg, S.J., Prevalence of Diagnosed Tourette Syndrome in persons aged 6-17 years - United States (2009) MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep., 58 (21), pp. 581-585Knight, T., Steeves, T., Day, L., Lowerison, M., Jette, N., Pringsheim, T., Prevalence of tic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2012) Pediatr Neurol., 47 (2), pp. 77-90. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2012.05.002Amiri, S., Fakhari, A., Golmirzaei, J., Mohammadpoorasi, A., Abdi, S., Tourette's syndrome, chronic tics, and comorbid attention deficit /hyperactivity disorder in elementary students (2012) Arch Iran Med., 15 (2), pp. 76-78Chummun, V., The prevalence of tic disorder in an electoral district of Mauritius (2014) J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry., 85. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2014-308883.22Zohar, A.H., Ratzoni, G., Pauls, D.L., Apter, A., Bleich, A., Kron, S., An epidemiologic study of obsessive-compulsive disorder and related disorders in Israeli adolescents (1992) J Am Acad.Child Adolesc Psychiatry., 31 (6), pp. 1057-1061. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199211000-00010Scahill, L., Tanner, C., Dure, L., The epidemiology of tics and Tourette syndrome in children and adolescents (2001) Adv Neurol., 85, pp. 261-271