Temporomandibular pain and depression in adolescents--a case-control study

This study compared the depression status of adolescents with temporomandibular (TM) pain to those without, considering the influence of age, sex, and other pain conditions. From a general population sample of 455 adolescents, 29 cases (mean age, 15.3 years) with current TM pain were compared with 44 age-matched controls without such pain. Study participants were examined for general health status, additional pain sites (back, abdomen, and head) in the previous month, and depression, using a 15-item German-language depression questionnaire. Cases had a statistically significant higher average depression score than controls (14.2 +/- 7.1 vs. 9.7 +/- 6.3; t test, p < 0.01), and they reported more often additional pain. The more pain sites were mentioned, the higher was the depression score [no pain, 4.0 +/- 2.8; four pains, 17.3 +/- 8.0; analysis of variance (ANOVA), p < 0.001]. We conclude that TM pain assessment among adolescents should include a whole-body pain drawing as well as a screening questionnaire to identify pain-related depressive symptoms.