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. 2024 Feb;51(2):287-295.
doi: 10.1111/joor.13606. Epub 2023 Oct 18.

Correlates of jaw functional limitation, somatization and psychological distress among different temporomandibular disorder diagnostic subtypes

Adrian Ujin Yap  1   2 , Sunghae Kim  3   4 , Byeong-Min Lee  5 , Jung Hwan Jo  5   6 , Ji Woon Park  3   5   6
Affiliations

Correlates of jaw functional limitation, somatization and psychological distress among different temporomandibular disorder diagnostic subtypes

Adrian Ujin Yap et al. J Oral Rehabil. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigated the jaw functional status and severity of somatic/psychological symptoms in different Diagnostic Criteria for temporomandibular disorders (DC/TMD) diagnostic subtypes and established the correlates between jaw functional limitation, somatization, depression and anxiety.

Methods: Data were accrued from consecutive 'first-visit' patients seeking TMD treatment at a university-based oral medicine/diagnosis clinic. Axis I physical TMD diagnoses were derived using the DC/TMD methodology and patients were categorized into pain-related (PT), intra-articular (IT) and combined (CT) TMD groups. Axis II measures were also administered and included the Jaw Functional Limitation Scale-20 (JFLS-20), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 and 9 (PHQ-15 and PHQ-9) and General Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7). Chi-square/Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman's correlation were employed for statistical evaluations (α = .05).

Results: The final dataset consisted of 772 TMD patients (mean age of 37.7 ± 15.9 years; 70.2% females). The prevalence of PT, IT and CT was 11.9%, 15.7% and 72.4%, respectively. Significant differences in functional jaw limitations, somatization, depression (CT, PT > IT) and anxiety (CT > PT, IT) were observed. Moderate-to-severe somatization, depression and anxiety were detected in 12.6%-15.7% of patients. For all three TMD groups, JFLS global scale/subscale scores were weakly associated with somatization, depression and anxiety scores (rs < 0.4). Moderate-to-strong correlations were noted between somatization, depression and anxiety (rs = 0.50-0.74).

Conclusions: Functional jaw limitations were associated with painful TMDs but appear to be unrelated to somatization and psychological distress. Somatization and depression/anxiety were moderately correlated, underscoring the importance of somatic symptom screening when managing TMD patients.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; jaw function; pain; somatization; temporomandibular disorders.

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References

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