Is There a Relation between Tension-Type Headache, Temporomandibular Disorders and Sleep?

Abstract EN

Introduction.

Tension-Type Headache (TTH) is the most prevalent headache often associated with impaired function and quality of life.

Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) and TTH frequently coexist; characterized by pericranial tenderness and impact on daily life.

We aim to apply a standardized questionnaire for TMD to characterize and analyse an eventual relation between sleep and oral health in TTH in a controlled design.

Material and Methods.

58 consecutive TTH patients and 58 healthy controls were included.

The Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) questionnaire, Oral Health Impact profile (OHIP) and questionnaires for sleep were applied.

Results.

TTH-patients had significantly higher pain scores (P<0.001), decreased quality of life (P<0.001), and higher total sleep scores (P<0.001) compared to controls.

Conclusion.

For the first time we have identified a clear relation between TTH and TMD symptoms, depression, anxiety, poor sleep, and impairments of oral function in carefully classified patients.

These findings indicate a close, but incomplete, overlap between TTH and TMD.

Their underlying pathophysiological mechanisms need further research.