Association between depression and oro-facial pain – a pilot study

Abstract

Introduction/Objective Orofacial pain and depression are frequent symptoms when temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) is present. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the influence of pain intensity on the level of depression in patients with TMD.

Methods This study included 44 patients, heterogeneous in sex and age from 25 to 45 years. Subjects were evaluated for signs of painful TMD based on the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD protocol. The study protocol was composed of a combination of data on clinical signs, a pain scale numerical, visual analogue scale, and a depression related questionnaire symptoms check list (SCL-90R).

Results When assessed the type of dysfunction and degree of the depression no statistically significant differences were found (p = 0.420). No statistically significant difference was observed in the age of respondents without depression, with moderate and severe depression (p = 0.859), There was no statistically significant difference observed in the degree of chronic pain in patients without depression and patients with a moderate and severe form of depression (p = 0.119). Pain on a numerical scale did not differ significantly in relation to the occurrence and degree of depression (p = 0.171; p = 0.068; p = 0.091). However, there was a statistically significant difference in the psychosocial status between the respondents in relation to the degree of depression regarding social life and daily activity (p = 0.010; p = 0.002).

Conclusion Depression can be one of the causes, but also a consequence of chronic oro-facial pain, and thus indirectly a factor that affects the psychosocial state and quality of life of the patients.

Keywords: depression; orofacial pain; temporomandibular dysfunction