Department of Orthodontics, 2nd University of Naples, Naples, Italy
J Oral Rehabil. 2011 Apr;38(4):242-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2842.2010.02156.x.
Whether there are correlations between the stomatognathic system and body posture remains controversial. Here, we have investigated whether malocclusal traits and having a Helkimo Index ≥ 5 show detectable correlations with body-posture alterations in children and young adults. A total of 1178 11- to 19-year-old subjects were divided into four groups: (i) controls; (ii) malocclusion; (iii) Helkimo Index ≥ 5 and (iv) malocclusion + Helkimo Index ≥ 5. Dental occlusion assessment included the following: overbite, overjet, posterior crossbite, scissorbite, mandibular crowding and dental class. Subsequently, body-posture assessments were performed through static analyses of body inclination and trunk asymmetry, and according to the dynamic Fukuda stepping test. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed. Although at the univariate level both the trunk asymmetry and Fukuda stepping test showed significant differences among the groups, the multivariate level revealed that age and gender were mostly responsible for this. The only significant correlation that was seen was for the malocclusion + Helkimo Index ≥ 5 group: these subjects had a positive (worse) trunk asymmetry and a negative (better) Fukuda stepping test performance. At the further multivariate analyses of each single malocclusal trait ⁄Helkimo Index ≥ 5 (irrespective of the groups), only an increased overbite showed a statistically significant association with a slightly better Fukuda stepping test performance. Given the small number of significant associations seen and their limited entities, this study does not support the existence of clinically relevant correlations for malocclusal traits and Helkimo Index ≥ 5 with body posture in children and young adults.
关于咀嚼系统与体态之间是否存在关联仍存在争议。在这里，我们研究了错颌畸形特征和 Helkimo 指数≥5 是否与儿童和青少年体态改变存在可检测的相关性。共有 1178 名 11-19 岁的受试者被分为四组：（i）对照组；（ii）错颌组；（iii）Helkimo 指数≥5 组；（iv）错颌+Helkimo 指数≥5 组。牙齿咬合评估包括以下内容：覆合、覆盖、后牙反合、剪刀型咬合、下颌拥挤和牙列不齐。随后，通过静态分析身体倾斜和躯干不对称，以及根据 Fukuda 动态步测试验，对体态进行评估。进行了单变量和多变量统计分析。尽管在单变量水平上，躯干不对称和 Fukuda 步测试验在各组之间均存在显著差异，但多变量水平表明年龄和性别是造成这种差异的主要原因。唯一观察到的显著相关性是在错颌+Helkimo 指数≥5 组中：这些受试者的躯干不对称呈阳性（更差），Fukuda 步测试验表现呈阴性（更好）。在对每个单一错颌特征 ⁄Helkimo 指数≥5（无论分组如何）的进一步多变量分析中，只有增加的覆合与 Fukuda 步测试验表现略有改善呈统计学显著相关。鉴于观察到的显著关联数量较少且关联性有限，本研究不支持错颌畸形特征和 Helkimo 指数≥5 与儿童和青少年体态之间存在临床相关相关性。
