ABSTRACT
Objective
To evaluate the prevalence/severity of somatic and temporomandibular disorder (TMD) symptoms in Southeast Asian youths and determine their associations with psychological distress.
Methods
Demographic information, Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), Fonseca Anamnestic Index (FAI), and Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) responses were gathered electronically and analyzed using non-parametric statistical and logistic regression analysis (p < 0.05).
Results
Of 400 youths (mean age 18.7 ± 1.7 years; 52.3% females), 65.0%/47.0% reported somatic/TMD symptoms, and 10.5% had TMDs. Significant differences in psychological distress were observed among the varying severity of somatic/TMD symptoms. Correlations between PHQ-15/FAI and DASS-21 scores were weak to moderately strong (rs = 0.30–0.61). Stepwise logistic regression indicated that female gender, TMD symptoms, and stress were risk factors for somatic symptoms, while somatic symptoms and stress were probable factors for TMDs.
Conclusion
Somatic and TMD symptoms are common in Southeast Asian youths and may be a manifestation of psychological distress.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Ansari A and Ali I for facilitating the administration of this project as well as the students of Tutorial Group DT1701 for their assistance in data collection.
Disclosure statement
The authors have no conflict of interest to declare relating to this research.