title: Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders: samples taken from attendees of medical health-care centers in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of facial pain and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in people located in urban and rural areas in a newly industrialized country (Iran).
  
  
  METHODS
  Two-hundred twenty-three subjects between 18 and 65 years of age (mean: 32.07; SD: 10.83) were randomly selected from an urban area and a rural area. One-hundred nineteen subjects from Mashhad (major city) and 104 subjects from Zoshk (village) were voluntarily recruited from medical health-care centers. Subjects who consulted the health-care center for dental, ear, nose, or throat issues were excluded. The monitoring of public health attendance of all citizens at designated health-care centers is compulsory by local law. All subjects were examined in accordance with the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD). Facial pain was assessed by using a questionnaire; the prevalence of myofascial pain, disc displacement, and degenerative disorders was determined by clinical examination. Nonparametric tests were used to assess group differences (ie, between village and city).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects in urban areas suffered less from facial pain (20.2% versus 46.2%; P < .01 [Mann-Whitney U test]) than subjects in rural areas. The frequency of TMD, disc displacement, and degenerative disorders was greater in the rural area.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The symptoms under investigation were significantly more widespread in rural than in urban areas. With regard to TMD per se, the place of residence appears to be unimportant. However, the rural population was significantly affected by facial pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Zibandeh_Balke@med.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Zibandeh
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Balke
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rammelsberg
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leckel
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmitter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000453:epidemiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult