Anxiety and depression accompanying bruxism

Gaye Yıldırım1, Bilgin Ali Şentürk2, Ayşegül Özer Çelik2, İbrahim Öztura4

1Department of Neurology, Private Practitioner, Ordu, Türkiye
2Dokuz Eylül University, Institute of Neural Sciences, İzmir, Türkiye
3Dokuz Eylül University, Institute of Neural Sciences, İzmir, Türkiye
4Department of Neurology, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Türkiye

Keywords: Anxiety, depression, sleep bruxism.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether bruxism was accompanied by anxiety and depression.

Patients and methods: A total of 41 bruxers (26 females, 15 males; mean age: 44.5±14.2 years; range, 20 to 72 years), diagnosed from dental and clinical history, and 37 healthy individuals (17 females, 20 males; mean age: 41.5±12.4 years; range, 16 to 73 years) were included in the study between May 2017 and May 2019. They were asked to answer the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory.

Results: While there was no difference between the bruxer and control group for the scores from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, depression scale scores were significantly higher in bruxers (p=0.033/p<0.05). When the anxiety-depression relationship was examined in the bruxer and control groups, a positive significant correlation was found with trait anxiety scores in the control group (p=0.001, r=0.541). In the bruxer group, a significant and moderate correlation was found between depression and trait anxiety (r=526, p=0.001).

Conclusion: We believe that our study about the role of psychogenic factors in the pathogenesis of bruxism, a condition with an unclear etiology, makes a meaningful contribution to the literature.

Cite this article as: Yıldırım G, Şentürk BA, Özer Çelik A, Öztura İ. Anxiety and depression accompanying bruxism. Turk J Neurol 2025;31(2):128-132. doi: 10.55697/tnd.2025.227.

Data Sharing Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Author Contributions

Idea/concept, design: B.A.Ş., İ.Ö.; Control/supervision, critical review: İ.Ö.; Data collection and/or processing: G.Y., B.A.Ş., A.Ö.Ç.; Analysis and/or interpretation: B.A.Ş., A.Ö.Ç.; Literature review: G.Y., B.A.Ş.; Writing the article: G.Y.; References and fundings: B.A.Ş., G.Y.; Materials: G.Y., B.A.Ş., A.Ö.Ç.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/ or publication of this article.

Financial Disclosure

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.