title: Increased risk of tinnitus in patients with temporomandibular disorder: a retrospective population-based cohort study.
abstract: This study determined whether there is an increased risk of tinnitus in patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ). We used information from health insurance claims obtained from Taiwan National Health Insurance (TNHI). Patients aged 20 years and older who were newly diagnosed with TMJ disorder served as the study cohort. The demographic factors and comorbidities that may be associated with tinnitus were also identified, including age, sex, and comorbidities of hearing loss, noise effects on the inner ear, and degenerative and vascular ear disorders. A higher proportion of TMJ disorder patients suffered from hearing loss (5.30 vs. 2.11 %), and degenerative and vascular ear disorders (0.20 vs. 0.08 %) compared with the control patients. The crude hazard ratio (HR) of tinnitus in the TMJ disorder cohort was 2.73-fold higher than that in the control patients, with an adjusted HR of 2.62 (95 % CI = 2.29-3.00). The comorbidity-specific TMJ disorder cohort to the control patients' adjusted HR of tinnitus was higher for patients without comorbidity (adjusted HR = 2.75, 95 % CI = 2.39-3.17). We also observed a 3.22-fold significantly higher relative risk of developing tinnitus within the 3-year follow-up period (95 % CI = 2.67-3.89). Patients with TMJ disorder might be at increased risk of tinnitus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Taichung Branch, Taichung, Taiwan.|Department of Dental Laboratory Technology, Shu-Zen Junior College of Medicine and Management, Kaoshiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Feng
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, E-DA Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Chia
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hui-Tzu
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Cheng-Li
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tang-Chuan
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan. d10040@mail.cmuh.org.tw.|Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science and School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, Taichung 404, Taiwan. d10040@mail.cmuh.org.tw.
authors.forename: Chia-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Comorbidity; Insurance; Retrospective cohort study; Temporomandibular disorder; Tinnitus