Associação entre sintomas de disfunção temporomandibular (DTM) e fatores associados em idosos: um estudo transversal

Abstract

The present study evaluated the association between symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in elderly people from a city in southern Brazil. Home-based cross-sectional observational study with probabilistic cluster sampling was carried out in 282 elderly aged ≥60 years in the city of Veranópolis/RS. Clinical examination of oral health and a structured questionnaire were applied. TMD symptoms were assessed by the Fonseca Anamnestic Index (IAF) and categorized into "Without TMD" and "With TMD" (included those who reported mild, moderate or severe TMD). Associations were evaluated using the chi-square or Mann-Whitney tests, through frequency distribution. Uni- and multivariate analyzes were performed, using Poisson regression with robust variance, to verify associations. The prevalence of elderly people with TMD symptoms was 30.5% (n=86). In the final multivariable model, the female gender remained associated with a higher prevalence ratio (PR) for the presence of TMD symptoms. Elderly females had a 62.8% (p=0.040) higher PR of having at least mild TMD symptoms when compared to elderly males. The number of teeth present, need for prosthesis or other demographic variables were not associated with the presence of TMD symptoms. The findings of the present study demonstrated a high prevalence of TMD symptoms in the elderly, which was associated with the female gender.