Association between temporomandibular disorders and obesity

Psychological stress can induce altered eating patterns, and studies have indicated that there is a correlation between temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and psychological stress. This study investigated the relationship between TMD and body mass index (BMI) in a large representative sample of the South Korean population using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Men and women with TMD showed decreased prevalence of abdominal obesity. Women with TMD had lower age, lower BMI, lower metabolic syndromic waist circumference, lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome, and lower prevalence of diabetes compared with the group without TMD. However, males with TMD didn't show any statistically significant difference between BMI, and metabolic syndromic waist circumference compared with the group without TMD, although there were similar tendencies in the female subject groups. Overall, TMD was associated with decreased BMI and abdominal obesity in women.