Associations between sleep bruxism and other sleep-related disorders in adults: a systematic review

• Published in: Sleep medicine Vol. 89; pp. 31 - 47
• Main Authors: Kuang, Boyuan, Li, Deshui, Lobbezoo, Frank, de Vries, Ralph, Hilgevoord, Antonius, de Vries, Nico, Huynh, Nelly, Lavigne, Gilles, Aarab, Ghizlane
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-01-2022
• Subjects: Adult; Humans; Mechanism; Prevalence; Restless Legs Syndrome - complications; Restless Legs Syndrome - epidemiology; Sleep; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - complications; Sleep arousal; Sleep bruxism; Sleep Bruxism - complications; Sleep disorders; Sleep Wake Disorders - complications; Sleep Wake Disorders - epidemiology; Systematic review; Sleep disorders; Sleep arousal; Systematic review; Prevalence; Sleep bruxism; Mechanism
• ISSN: 1389-9457; 1878-5506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2021.11.008

Systematic reviews on sleep bruxism (SB) as a comorbid condition of other sleep-related disorders are lacking. Such reviews would contribute to the insight of sleep clinicians into the occurrence of SB in patients with other sleep-related disorders, and into the underlying mechanisms of such comorbid associations. This systematic review aimed: 1. to determine the prevalence of SB in adults with other sleep-related disorders; and 2. to determine the associations between SB and other sleep-related disorders, and to explain the underlying mechanisms of these associations.
A systematic search on SB and sleep-related disorders was performed in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science to identify eligible studies published until May 15, 2020. Quality assessment was performed using the Risk of Bias Assessment tool for Non-randomized Studies.
Of the 1539 unique retrieved studies, 37 articles were included in this systematic review. The prevalence of SB in adult patients with obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movement during sleep, sleep-related gastroesophageal reflux disease, REM behavior disorder (RBD), and sleep-related epilepsy was higher than that in the general population. The specific mechanisms behind these positive associations could not be identified.
SB is more prevalent in patients with the previously mentioned disorders than in the general population. Sleep arousal may be a common factor with which all the identified disorders are associated, except RBD and Parkinson's disease. The associations between SB and these identified sleep-related disorders call for more SB screening in patients with the abovementioned sleep-related disorders.
•Sleep bruxism is prevalent in several common sleep-related disorders.•Half of the adults with obstructive sleep apnea are experiencing sleep bruxism.•Sleep arousal links sleep bruxism with the identified sleep-related disorders.•The associations call for more SB checks in patients with sleep-related disorders.