Evaluation of orofacial pain and psychological comorbidities in health sciences university students

Abstract

Introduction: Orofacial pain (OP) is a common public health problem among the general population however, its distribution among the young population like students has not been evaluated so far. The objectives of this study were to investigate the self-reported prevalence, and characteristics of OP, and to evaluate its association with psychological comorbidities such as anxiety and depression. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based study was conducted on students studying health sciences programs at SEGi University, Malaysia. A well-designed, structured questionnaire was utilized to assess the prevalence and characteristics of OP. Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale was used to evaluate the psychological status of the students. The collected data was subject to statistical analysis by using the SPSS version 22 software. Results: Overall 494 university students had participated in the study of which, 78% (n = 375) of students had suffered from OP and it was significantly higher among the female students (p < 0.03). Headache was the most common type of OP (66.2%) followed by pain in temple region (47.2%), in and around eyes (29.1%), facial region (23.3%), and tooth/gingival pain (20.9%). The association between the prevalence of OP and anxiety was statistically significant (p < 0.019). About 35.4% of the health sciences students had first OP episode started three months ago, 4.2% had daily pain, 14.3% suffered from continuous pain, and only 14% of the students had consulted professionals and 36.1% of them took medication. Conclusion: A significantly higher prevalence of self-reported OP was evident among the health sciences university students and students with different types of OP had higher anxiety and depression scores. Early recognition of OP symptoms and associated comorbidities must be considered for the prevention and successful management of these conditions to circumvent its negative academic impact on the students.

The Association Between Orofacial Pain and Depression: A Systematic Review

“… 16 Another study conducted by Jeremic-Knezevic et al on 200 women aged 18–65 years revealed that 40.4% of individuals with orofacial pain did not show signs of depression, 30.8% had mild to moderate depressive disorders, and 28.8% exhibited severe depressive disorders. 17 These research findings contradict previous studies 15 , 18 , 19 where individuals with orofacial pain were assumed to always experience depression with a high prevalence. Considering the contradictory nature of previous research findings, this systematic review aimed to provide scientific evidence from previously conducted research about the association between orofacial pain and depression.…”

Impact of orofacial pain on the quality of life of students

“…The published cross-sectional studies have indicated that a pain in the temporomandibular joint in women is twice more common than in men. The research on socio-demographic characteristics of TMDs and pain in the temporomandibular joint indicates that pain is more common in women and younger population [12]. The minimum number of our respondents reported a shooting pain in the face (5%), while none of them reported symptoms of burning sensation in the tongue syndrome.…”

“…The main problem in the pain perception is that it is a subjective experience including many different, unique experiences that have different causes and are characterized by different features. The pain can interfere with many aspects of everyday life, including work, social and recreational activities, as well as sleep [12]. Also, problems with eating and drinking, the use of pain medications and sleep disorders are reported, so patients are often forced to seek help from a dentist or physician [13,14].…”

The Association between Dental Pain and Psychological Symptoms: Evidence from a Population-Based Study in Indonesia

“…2 Considering the nature of pain in general that has been associated with several psychological symptoms, the association between orofacial pain, including dental pain, and several psychological symptoms are also being explored. [7][8][9] In a preliminary study conducted by Shafira et al 10 on patients with acute orofacial pain due to oral and maxillofacial infection or oral and maxillofacial trauma, it was shown that the level of orofacial pain was significantly related to jaw and facial activities limitation (p < 0.01) and that the limitation of the jaw and facial activities was significantly related (p ¼ 0.001) to stress. Interestingly, no significant association was found between stress and acute orofacial pain.…”

“… 2 Considering the nature of pain in general that has been associated with several psychological symptoms, the association between orofacial pain, including dental pain, and several psychological symptoms are also being explored. 7 8 9 …”