Association between depressive symptoms and temporomandibular disorders among students

Abstract

To evaluate the association between depressive symptoms and the severity of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). This cross-sectional study (763 students) used the Fonseca Anamnestic Index and Axis II of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD. Pearson’s correlation test was applied to evaluate associations of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics with TMD (p ≤ 0.05). Multinomial logistic regression was performed to adjust for confounding variables. The prevalence of signs and symptoms of TMD among the participants was 63.8% (47.6% had signs and symptoms of depression). Students with moderate depressive symptoms were 5.11 times more likely to develop severe TMD symptoms (p < 0.001). Students with severe depressive symptoms were 12.51 times more likely to develop signs and symptoms of TMD (p < 0.001). There was a significant association between depressive symptoms and signs and symptoms of TMD. The greater the severity of symptoms of depression, the higher the risk of developing signs and symptoms of TMD.