Sociodemographic Profile: A Forgotten Factor in Temporomandibular Disorders? A Scoping Review

J Pain Res. 2024 Feb 1:17:393-414. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S434146. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

The literature on Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) incidence commonly reports sociodemographic factors such as gender and age. However, the role and prevalence of other sociodemographic factors in TMD are not well defined. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to report the prevalence of sociodemographic factors in TMD patients. A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed and Web of Science databases to identify clinical trials in adult populations, using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD) or the Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (DC/TMD) and reporting sociodemographic data in TMD patients. Twenty-seven studies meeting the criteria were included in this review. The most commonly reported sociodemographic factors assessed in the included studies were age, race, education, job, income, and marital status. TMD prevalence was observed to be higher among younger and divorced individuals among the included studies. However, conflicting results were found for education level, and employment was not considered a risk factor for TMD. Although this review has methodological limitations, it suggests an association between TMD incidence and certain sociodemographic factors; nevertheless, further studies are needed to establish this relationship more conclusively.

Keywords: orofacial pain; sociodemographic factors; temporomandibular joint disorders.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

This study was financed by national funds through the FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under the project UIDB/04585/2020. The funding source was not involved in study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.