Suga Takayuki, Toyofuku Akira
Department of Psychosomatic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 2;15(1):28218. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-14427-9.
Medically unexplained oral symptoms (MUOS) are frequently associated with psychosocial factors. Although most affected individuals can maintain their usual daily activities, a small subset experience pronounced socioeconomic hardship, and the prevalence and characteristics remain unclear in working-age Japanese public assistance recipients. This retrospective chart review examined 3685 first-visit patients at a tertiary psychosomatic dentistry clinic between April 2016 and March 2023. Of these, 98 (2.7%) received public assistance, and 55 (1.5% of the total sample) were aged 18-64 years. Demographic, clinical, and social determinants of health-including psychiatric diagnoses, living arrangement, and employment status-were analyzed. Results showed that 90.9% of the 55 participants had current or past psychiatric diagnoses, most commonly depression, anxiety, schizophrenia-spectrum, or bipolar disorders; 74.5% experienced polypharmacy. Unemployment and living alone were prevalent, underscoring persistent social isolation and limited support networks. These findings highlight the importance of integrating psychosomatic care with psychiatric support and broader social resources-such as community-based NPO services, and informal family or peer support-to address the complex needs of this underserved population. By situating MUOS within a broader context of social determinants of health, this study offers insights for more holistic, multidisciplinary interventions.
医学上无法解释的口腔症状（MUOS）常与社会心理因素相关。尽管大多数受影响个体能够维持日常活动，但一小部分人经历了明显的社会经济困境，而在日本工作年龄的公共援助受助者中，其患病率和特征仍不明确。这项回顾性病历审查研究了2016年4月至2023年3月期间在一家三级身心牙科诊所首次就诊的3685名患者。其中，98人（2.7%）接受公共援助，55人（占总样本的1.5%）年龄在18至64岁之间。分析了人口统计学、临床和健康的社会决定因素，包括精神疾病诊断、居住安排和就业状况。结果显示，55名参与者中有90.9%目前或曾经有精神疾病诊断，最常见的是抑郁症、焦虑症、精神分裂症谱系障碍或双相情感障碍；74.5%的人使用多种药物。失业和独居情况普遍，凸显了持续的社会隔离和有限的支持网络。这些发现强调了将身心护理与精神支持以及更广泛的社会资源（如社区非营利组织服务、非正式家庭或同伴支持）相结合的重要性，以满足这一服务不足人群的复杂需求。通过将MUOS置于更广泛的健康社会决定因素背景下，本研究为更全面的多学科干预提供了见解。
