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†These authors contributed equally.
Introduction: Premonitory urge (PU) is an aversive bodily sensation
that signals the onset of tic disorder.To our knowledge, PU typically precedes
the appearance of tic symptoms, and both age and tic severity are correlated with
PU. However, inconsistent findings have also been reported. Hence, we conducted a
meta-analysis to examine the relationship among premonitory symptoms, patient age
and the severity of tic symptoms, as well as to summarize the research on the
neural underpinnings of PU in Tourette syndrome (TS). Methods: We
conducted a literature search of relevant studies published between December 2005
and April 2022 using databases such as PubMed, Elsevier, PsycINFO, and Web of
Science. Our analysis was carried out using R software with the assistance of the
“meta” and “metafor” packages. Results: Our meta-analysis included
22 studies with a total of 1236 tic disorder patients. The mean Premonitory Urge
for Tics Scale (PUTS) score was 20.17, with a 95% confidence interval of [18.14,
21.68]. Through meta-regression, we found that age and tic severity play
important moderating roles in PU severity (p
