CHRONIC PAIN AND WEATHER CONDITIONS IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS

Background: Although patients with Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) often report an increase of pain symptoms in response to the worsening of weather conditions, evidence supporting similar associations is only limited in the literature. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between pain intensity and meteorological factors in patients affected by chronic masticatory muscle pain. Method: Seven female subjects diagnosed with myofascial pain of the masticatory muscles (Ia, Ib, according to the RDC/TMD criteria) were followed at the University of Naples (Italy) and recruited in 2008 to participate into a pilot study. Each participant was provided with a portable electronic device that recorded and stored data on weather variables (barometric pressure, air humidity, temperature) and pain. Patients were asked to express a synthetic pain measure through an electronic visual analogue scale (VAS) once in a hour. The device recorded all the meteorological data automatically every 15 minutes. Patients were followed for a minimum of 22 to a maximum of 37 consecutive days. The relationship between meteorological variables and pain scores was investigated using separate generalized least squares regression models with a correlation structure estimated via ARIMA models. Results: Individual VAS trajectories in the study period were different. The effect of meteorological factors was nonsignificant in four subjects, whereas pressure and humidity showed some significant effect on VAS. Conclusion: Preliminary analyses suggest the existence of different individual responses to climatic changes. Further investigations on larger samples are needed.