Influence of psychiatric symptom profiles of parents on sleep bruxism intensity of their children

Abstract

Objective

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of parental anxiety, depression levels and psychiatric symptom profiles of parents on the occurrence of sleep bruxism in children.

Material & Methods

This cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 94 children aged 6 to 12 years, divided into two groups: with sleep bruxism (bruxism group-BG) and without sleep bruxism (control group-CG). Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R), Symptom Checklist and Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders-Parent (SCARED-P) scale were used to assess anxiety and depression levels of parents. All questionnaires were filled out by parents of children. Intraoral and extraoral examinations were carried out of children in the clinic and sleep bruxism was determined. All stress conditions were investigated by logistic regression analysis. In the comparison of the qualitative data, chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used.

Results

The data revealed that participants whose mothers had high anxiety and interpersonal sensitivity scores, and participants whose fathers had a medium level of obsessive-compulsive disorder were more likely to have an SB problem (p < 0.05). According to the results of BDI, the fathers’ results between the BG and the CG were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). However, the mothers’ results between the BG and the CG were statistically significant (p < 0.05) When all subscales of SCARED-P were evaluated, the separation anxiety disorder subscore was statistically significant in the bruxism group.

Conclusion

The psychological status of parents is a significant risk factor associated with SB development in school-age children.

Keywords:

• Bruxism
• stress
• children
• depression
• anxiety

Acknowledgements

All authors of study are thankful to the parents and children for participating in this research.

Ethical statement

This cross-sectional study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of Gulhane Military Medical Academy Haydarpasa Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey (approval number 1491-66-16/1539).

Patient consent

Parents were informed about the purpose and benefits of the study, and an informed consent form was obtained from parents.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).