Department of Dentistry, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Faculty of Dentistry, National University Health System, Singapore.
National Dental Research Institute, National Dental Centre Singapore and Duke-NUS Medical School, SingHealth, Singapore.
Psychol Health Med. 2022 Apr;27(4):876-887. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2021.1908571. Epub 2021 Apr 20.
Although Asians are posited to be predisposed to somatization, studies on the inter-relationships between emotional and physical symptoms in Asian youths are still limited. This study determined the associations between emotional, somatic, and Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD)-related symptoms in Asian youths. Youths were recruited from a local polytechnic and the prevalence/severity of emotional distress was ascertained with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21. Somatic and TMD-related symptoms were appraised with the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 and Fonseca Anamnestic Index. Data were analysed using non-parametric statistical and logistic regression analysis (p < 0.05). The study sample (n = 400; 209 females) had a mean age of 18.7 ± 1.7 years. Moderate-to-severe depression, anxiety, and stress were present in 31.0%, 36.8%, and 16.5% of the subjects respectively. Subjects with moderate-to-severe emotional distress had significantly higher somatic and TMD symptom scores (p < 0.001). Correlations between emotional and somatic/TMD symptom scores were moderately strong (= 0.46-0.61). Stepwise logistic regression indicated that moderate-to-severe somatization was associated with the female gender, anxiety, and stress, and moderate-to-severe TMDs were related to somatization and stress. Asian youths with elevated emotional distress experienced significantly higher levels of somatic and TMD-related symptoms. The stress construct appears to pose a greater risk for somatization and TMDs than depression and anxiety.
尽管人们认为亚洲人容易出现躯体化症状，但关于亚洲青年情感和身体症状之间相互关系的研究仍然有限。本研究旨在确定亚洲青年的情感、躯体和颞下颌关节紊乱（TMD）相关症状之间的关联。研究对象从当地一所理工学院招募而来，使用抑郁、焦虑和压力量表-21（Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21，DASS-21）评估其情绪困扰的患病率/严重程度。躯体和 TMD 相关症状则使用患者健康问卷-15（Patient Health Questionnaire-15，PHQ-15）和 Fonseca 病史指数（Fonseca Anamnestic Index）进行评估。使用非参数统计和逻辑回归分析（p < 0.05）对数据进行分析。研究样本（n = 400；209 名女性）的平均年龄为 18.7 ± 1.7 岁。分别有 31.0%、36.8%和 16.5%的受试者存在中重度抑郁、焦虑和压力。存在中重度情绪困扰的受试者躯体和 TMD 症状评分显著更高（p < 0.001）。情绪和躯体/TMD 症状评分之间存在中度至强相关性（= 0.46-0.61）。逐步逻辑回归表明，中重度躯体化与女性性别、焦虑和压力有关，而中重度 TMD 与躯体化和压力有关。情绪困扰程度较高的亚洲青年经历了更高水平的躯体和 TMD 相关症状。与抑郁和焦虑相比，压力因素似乎对躯体化和 TMD 构成更大的风险。
