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Published on: September 13, 2024
Early smoking onset and temporomandibular disorder symptoms later in life
Leandro Machado Oliveira1, José Pedro Machado Oliveira2, Thayná Regina Pelissari3
1Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Life Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Objectives:
To investigate the association between early smoking onset (SO) and TMD symptoms among adults, and assess whether smoking intensity mediates this association.
Methods:
This secondary analysis used data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSI-Brazil). TMD symptoms were assessed using the Fonseca Anamnestic Index. Inverse probability weighting balanced early-life confounders and estimated risk differences (RD) and risk ratios (RR). Robustness was evaluated using positive (POC) and negative (NOC) outcome controls outcomes and E-values. Mediation analysis was conducted among smokers.
Results:
7,103 individuals were assessed. The RD comparing initiation before age 15 with never smoking was 0.06 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.11), corresponding to an RR of 1.37 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.72). POC, NOC, and E-values suggested residual confounding was unlikely to explain findings. No mediation via smoking intensity was observed.
Conclusion:
Early SO is associated with higher TMD risk overall. Preventing early initiation, especially before age 15, may reduce TMD burden.
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