Evaluation of salivary cortisol and anxiety levels in myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome.
BACKGROUND
Myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDS), otherwise called myofascial pain is one of the most common temporomandibular disorders, which in turn is the most common cause of orofacial pain of non-dental origin. Its etiology is multifactorial and still poorly understood. Psychological factors have been shown to play a role in the etiology. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between anxiety and salivary cortisol levels in patients with myofascial pain.


METHODS
Twenty patients suffering from myofascial pain were recruited as the study group. The same number of age and sex matched healthy individuals were taken as the control group. The salivary samples collected between 9-9:15 am from both groups were analyzed for cortisol levels with the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Anxiety levels of 40 patients were measured using Hamilton's anxiety scale.


RESULTS
The mean serum cortisol level of the MPDS group showed a highly significant difference (p < 0.001) from the controls. The mean anxiety scores of the MPDS group showed a highly significant difference (p < 0.001) from the controls. A positive correlation was found between anxiety and the salivary cortisol levels in MPDS patients.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that anxiety plays a vital role in the etio-pathogenesis of MPDS; thus, besides pharmacological treatment, psychological support is also needed.
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Kamineni Institute of Dental Sciences, Narketpally, India.
Lakshmi Kavitha
LK
Nadendla
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Kamineni Institute of Dental Sciences, Narketpally, India.
Venkateswarlu
V
Meduri
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Kamineni Institute of Dental Sciences, Narketpally, India.
Geetha
G
Paramkusam
Department of Prosthodontics, Kamineni Institute of Dental Sciences, Narketpally, India.
Koteswara Rao
KR
Pachava
ELISA; anxiety; myofascial pain; salivary cortisol