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. 2020 Aug;161(8):1768-1775.
doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001872. Epub 2020 Mar 16.

Increasing gender differences in the prevalence and chronification of orofacial pain in the population

Birgitta Häggman-Henrikson  1   2 , Per Liv  3 , Aurelia Ilgunas  1   2 , Corine M Visscher  4 , Frank Lobbezoo  4 , Justin Durham  5 , Anna Lövgren  2
Affiliations

Increasing gender differences in the prevalence and chronification of orofacial pain in the population

Birgitta Häggman-Henrikson et al. Pain. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Although a fluctuating pattern of orofacial pain across the life span has been proposed, data on its natural course are lacking. The longitudinal course of orofacial pain in the general population was evaluated using data from routine dental check-ups at all Public Dental Health services in Västerbotten, Sweden. In a large population sample, 2 screening questions were used to identify individuals with pain once a week or more in the orofacial area. Incidence and longitudinal course of orofacial pain were evaluated using annual data for 2010 to 2017. To evaluate predictors for orofacial pain remaining over time, individuals who reported pain on at least 2 consecutive dental check-ups were considered persistent. A generalized estimating equation model was used to analyze the prevalence, accounting for repeated observations on the same individuals. In total, 180,308 individuals (equal gender distribution) were examined in 525,707 dental check-ups. More women than men reported orofacial pain (odds ratio 2.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.48-2.68), and there was a significant increase in the prevalence of reported pain from 2010 to 2017 in both women and men. Longitudinal data for 135,800 individuals were available for incidence analysis. Women were at higher risk of both developing orofacial pain (incidence rate ratio 2.37; 95% CI 2.25-2.50) and reporting pain in consecutive check-ups (incidence rate ratio 2.56; 95% CI 2.29-2.87). In the northern Swedish population studied, the prevalence of orofacial pain increases over time and more so in women, thus indicating increasing differences in gender for orofacial pain.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart of the study population. Excluded participants may be present in more than one of the subgroups.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The prevalence in women and men with affirmative answers to 2Q/TMD from 2010 to 2017 (n = 187,487) together with a Venn diagram showing the overlap between the 2 questions on orofacial pain.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The estimated prevalence of orofacial pain as a function of age, adjusted at year 2010 (n = 37,647).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
The estimated prevalence of orofacial pain stratified by year.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
The prevalence of orofacial pain from 2010 to 2017 for women (red) and men (blue) for the different age groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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