Prevalence of Emotional Factors and Pain in Temporomandibular Disorder and Correlation With Different Diagnoses: A Cross‐Sectional Study

TL;DR

This study finds that emotional factors and pain are common in temporomandibular disorder, particularly in women, and are linked to quality of life and jaw function.

Contribution

The study reports the prevalence of emotional factors in TMD and their correlation with pain and jaw function in a South American population.

Findings

Emotional factors and pain are highly prevalent in TMD patients, especially among women.

Psychological factors did not differ significantly across TMD subtypes but were common.

Women showed higher pain levels and more functional limitations compared to men.

Abstract

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a leading cause of orofacial pain, often associated with psychosocial factors that affect quality of life. Although these factors are well documented, the association with pain intensity and jaw function remains understudied.

This cross‐sectional observational study aimed to report the prevalence of emotional factors in patients with TMD and to correlate TMD with psychological factors, pain intensity and functional limitation of the jaw in a sample of the regional population.

This study used data from a TMD outpatient clinic in South America. Assessments included the DC‐TMD, chronic pain scale, GAD‐7 (anxiety), PHQ‐9 (depression), PHQ‐15 (somatic symptoms) and JFLS‐8 (jaw function) instruments. Sociodemographic data and the diagnosis of TMD were also reported. Data were statistically analysed using Kolmogorov–Smirnov, two‐tailed chi‐square, Fisher's exact, Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis and Spearman's correlation coefficient tests (α = 0.05).

From 190 patients (mean age 43.5), 78.4% were women, 31.5% had low education and 44.7% had a household income lower than US$ 500. The majority had TMD with pain and joint disorder. The overall chronic pain score was 63, indicating high pain intensity. Psychosocial scores and jaw limitations were mild. Women showed higher pain levels, more functional limitations, and elevated psychosocial scores.

Psychological factors did not differ significantly across TMD subtypes but were highly prevalent, especially in women.

Psychological factors did not differ significantly across TMD subtypes but were highly prevalent, especially in women.

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