Prevalência da disfunção temporomandibular e fatores associados em idosos do Brasil: um estudo transversal

Abstract

With the advancement of the human aging process, morphophysiological changes occur in the organism more rapidly, which increases the predisposition of chronic non-communicable diseases. These pathologies may also affect the stomatognathic system and cause Temporomandibular dysfunction. To assess the prevalence of temporomandibular dysfunction(TMD) in the elderly, one of the instruments screening that may be used is the Fonseca Anamnestic Index. This study assessed the prevalence of temporomandibular dysfunction its associated factors in the elderly of a city in southern Brazil. It is a home-based cross-sectional observational study performed with people aged from 65 to 74 years, living in residential homes in the city of Cruz Alta, RS, Brazil. The Fonseca Anamnestic Index was used for temporomandibular dysfunction analysis, as well as a structured questionnaire for socioeconomic conditions and an oral health clinical examination. Associations between the dependent variable and independent variables were assessed by either chi-square or MannWhitney tests, and presented by frequency distribution. The significance level was 5%. Poisson regression models were used to assess the association between temporomandibular dysfunction risk and explanatory variables. Two hundred and eighty-seven (287) elderly people were interviewed and examined. The mean age was 69.30 years, from which 102 (35.5%) were men and 185 (64.5%) were women.One hundred fifty-eight (158) elderly people (55.1%) with TMD, and of these, 120 (41.8%) with mild TMD, 29 (10.1%) with moderate TMD e 9 (3.2%) with severe TMD. With this, the results will be presented in production I. Age (p=0,004) and dental losses (p=0,013) were associated to higher of temporomandibular dysfunction risk. The findings of the present study showed a high prevalence of temporomandibular dysfunction risk.Age (≤ 69 years) and dental losses were associated to higher of temporomandibular dysfunction risk. The results suggest the need for an improvement in oral health conditions of the elderly Brazilians and the importance of further epidemiological studies on the prevalence of temporomandibular dysfunction in this population