Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between respiratory disorders and sleep bruxism, with an evaluation of demographic/socioeconomic factors and childhood stress as confounding variables.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in the city of Diamantina, Brazil, with 448 randomly selected schoolchildren aged 8 to 11 years. The schoolchildren underwent an oral examination for the evaluation of bruxism. Parents/caregivers answered a questionnaire for the assessment of sleep bruxism; socioeconomic-demographic factors; and respiratory disorders, such as rhinitis, sinusitis, and bronchitis. The schoolchildren filled out the Children's Stress Scale. Poisson regression models were constructed separately for each respiratory disorder to determine prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results: Sleep bruxism was more prevalent among children with rhinitis (PR = 1.45; 95%CI 1.08-1.93; p = 0.012) and sinusitis (PR = 1.58; 95%CI 1.06-2.36; p = 0.023). No significant association was found between sleep bruxism and bronchitis. A greater frequency of sleep bruxism was found among children whose mothers had a higher level of schooling and those who reported stress in the resistance/exhaustion phase.
Conclusion: Rhinitis and sinusitis were associated with sleep bruxism. Moreover, sleep bruxism was more prevalent among children whose mothers had a higher level of schooling and those with higher degrees of stress.
Keywords: Respiration disorders; Rhinitis; School children; Sinusitis; Sleep bruxism.