Cardiovascular Risk Profiles of Individuals with Bruxism: A Case-Control Study Using QRISK3 Scores

TL;DR

People with bruxism have higher estimated 10-year cardiovascular disease risk compared to matched controls, even after adjusting for other risk factors.

Contribution

This is the first study to use the QRISK3 algorithm to quantify cardiovascular risk in individuals with bruxism.

Findings

Bruxism patients had significantly higher mean QRISK3 scores than controls.

Bruxism severity correlated moderately with QRISK3 scores.

Bruxism remained an independent predictor of high CVD risk after adjusting for multiple factors.

Abstract

Introduction: Bruxism has been linked to autonomic dysregulation and systemic inflammation-mechanisms that may elevate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, no study to date has applied a validated risk‐prediction model to quantify this risk in bruxism patients. This study aims to compare 10-year CVD risk, as estimated by the QRISK3 algorithm, between adults with bruxism and matched controls, and to assess the relationship between bruxism severity and cardiovascular risk.

Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional, matched case-control study recruiting 92 adults (25-65 years) with clinically diagnosed bruxism and 108 non-bruxing controls matched for age (±2 years), sex, body‐mass index (BMI) (±1 kg/m²), smoking status, hypertension, and diabetes. Bruxism severity was measured via the eight-item Bruxism Severity Questionnaire (BSQ). Ten-year CVD risk was calculated using QRISK3 inputs from clinical history, physical examination, and recent laboratory values.

Results: Cases and controls did not differ in mean age (42.5 ± 10.3 vs. 41.8 ± 9.7 years; p=0.63), sex distribution (55% female each), BMI (26.2 ± 3.4 vs. 25.8 ± 3.1 kg/m²; p=0.315), smoking (23.9% vs. 18.5%; p=0.756), hypertension (15.2% vs. 11.1%; p=0.698), or diabetes (8.7% vs. 5.5%; p=0.564). The mean QRISK3 score was higher in bruxers than controls (8.2 ± 4.5 % vs. 6.1 ± 3.7 %; t=4.156, p<0.001), and the prevalence of “high CVD risk” was 28.3 % vs. 14.8 % (χ²=6.102, p=0.013). The BSQ total score correlated moderately with QRISK3 (r=0.36, p<0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, BMI, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, bruxism remained an independent predictor of high CVD risk (OR 2.30; 95% CI 1.15-4.58; p=0.019).

Conclusion: Adults with bruxism exhibit significantly higher estimated 10-year CVD risk than matched controls, and bruxism severity correlates with QRISK3. These findings support the integration of cardiovascular risk screening in dental practice for patients presenting with bruxism.

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