Abstract
This cross-sectional study investigated the psychosocial and behavioral characteristics of young Chinese Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) patients, relationships between pain intensity, depression, anxiety, oral behaviors, jaw function, and Oral Health-related Quality of Life (OHRQoL), as well as factors contributing to low OHRQoL. Youths aged 15 to 24 years were enrolled at a tertiary dental hospital. Participants were evaluated using the Diagnostic Criteria for TMDs Axis I protocol and Axis II measures, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, General Anxiety-7, Oral Behaviors Checklist, and Jaw Functional Limitation Scale-8. Pain intensity and OHRQoL were appraised with a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Oral Health Impact Profile for TMDs (OHIP-TMDs). Chi-square/non-parametric tests and logistic regression were employed for statistical analyses (α = 0.05). Youths comprised 37.2% of all TMD patients seen during the study period. Of the 398 participants (75.9% female), 34.9%, 17.8%, and 47.2% were diagnosed with intra-articular (IT), pain-related (PT), and combined (CT) TMDs, respectively. Young adults (20-24 years) exhibited significantly greater depression, anxiety, sleeping-state oral activity, and lower OHRQoL (p < 0.001-0.007) compared to older adolescents (15-19 years). Significant differences were observed in pain intensity, depression, anxiety, waking-state non-functional activity, jaw functional limitation, and OHRQoL (p < 0.001-0.035) among individuals with IT, PT, and CT. OHRQoL was moderately correlated with depression, anxiety, and jaw functional limitation (r(s) = 0.53-0.61). In young Chinese TMD patients, low OHRQoL was significantly associated with anxiety, pain intensity, age, jaw function, and jaw overuse behavior.