TMD treatment need in relation to age, gender, stress, and diagnostic subgroup

• Published in: Journal of orofacial pain Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 67
• Main Authors: Kuttila, M, Niemi, P M, Kuttila, S, Alanen, P, Le Bell, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 1998
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Analysis of Variance; Female; Finland - epidemiology; Health Services Needs and Demand - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Stress, Psychological - complications; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders - classification; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders - epidemiology; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders - etiology; Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome - epidemiology; Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome - etiology; Finland
• ISSN: 1064-6655

Associations between treatment need for temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and age, gender, stress, and diagnostic subgroup were analyzed in an adult Finnish population sample of 506 subjects. When analyzed separately, the association between TMD treatment need and all the studied factors was statistically significant. This finding is in accordance with earlier results. When the studied factors were included into an explanatory model, however, the picture changed. The logistic regression analysis revealed that diagnostic subgroup was the strongest predictor for the TMD treatment need. Total stress score significantly added to the explanatory power of the model, but age and gender did not. The commonplace observation that women show more signs and symptoms of TMD seems to be explainable by their higher stress scores and by the type of symptoms.