Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jul 5;14(13):1435.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics14131435.

Is There a Relationship between Salivary Cortisol and Temporomandibular Disorder: A Systematic Review

Lujain AlSahman  1 , Hamad AlBagieh  1 , Roba AlSahman  2
Affiliations
Review

Is There a Relationship between Salivary Cortisol and Temporomandibular Disorder: A Systematic Review

Lujain AlSahman et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: This systematic review examines and evaluates the relationship between salivary cortisol levels and temporomandibular disorder (TMD) in young adult patients.

Method: Six databases-PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Cochrane Library-were utilized to screen eligible studies. A systematic search was performed based on PECO questions and eligibility criteria. The research question for this review was "Do salivary cortisol levels correlate with TMD in individuals aged 18-40?" The risk of bias for quality assessment was determined by the Cochrane tool. PRISMA guidelines were followed while performing this review.

Result: A total of fourteen studies were included in this review. Of these, eleven were observational studies (four cross-sectional and seven case-control), and three were randomized control trials. Eleven of the included studies presented a low to moderate risk in the qualitative synthesis. The total sample size of the included studies was 751 participants. The included studies suggest higher salivary cortisol levels in TMD patients than in healthy individuals.

Conclusions: The findings of this review indicate higher salivary cortisol levels in adult patients with TMD than in healthy controls. Thus, supportive psychological treatment and clinical modalities should be provided to patients with TMD. Moreover, higher-quality studies with low heterogeneity are required to support this finding.

Keywords: biomarkers; diagnostic tool; salivary cortisol; temporomandibular disorders (TMD).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Murphy M.K., MacBarb R.F., Wong M.E. Temporomandibular Joint Disorders: A Review of Etiology, Clinical Management, and Tissue Engineering Strategies. Int. J. Oral Maxillofac. Implants. 2013;28:e393. doi: 10.11607/jomi.te20. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Giannakopoulos N.N., Keller L., Rammelsberg P., Kronmüller K.-T., Schmitter M. Anxiety and depression in patients with chronic temporomandibular pain and in controls. J. Dent. 2010;38:369–376. doi: 10.1016/j.jdent.2010.01.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tanaka E., Detamore M.S., Mercuri L.G. Degenerative disorders of the temporomandibular joint: Etiology, diagnosis, and treatment. J. Dent. Res. 2008;87:296–307. doi: 10.1177/154405910808700406. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Liu F., Steinkeler A. Epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of temporomandibular disorders. Dent. Clin. N. Am. 2013;57:465–479. doi: 10.1016/j.cden.2013.04.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. McNeill C. Management of temporomandibular disorders: Concepts and controversies. J. Prosthet. Dent. 1997;77:510–522. doi: 10.1016/S0022-3913(97)70145-8. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources