Intimate partner violence and temporomandibular joint disorder

Objective: To assess the relationship between Intimate partner violence (IPV) (a highly prevalent form of domestic abuse) with the subsequent development of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD).

Methods: A retrospective open cohort study using a UK primary care database was undertaken. 18,547 women exposed to IPV were matched by age to 74,188 unexposed women. Defined through clinical codes the outcome of interest was TMD, and adjusted incidence rates (aIRR) were used to describe the relationship after considering covariates of interest.

Results: 94 individuals in the exposed group were clinically coded with TMD during the study period translating to an incidence rate (IR) or 1.59 per 1000 person years. This was in comparison to 342 outcomes in the unexposed group (IR 1.21 per 1000 person years). The unadjusted IRR was 1.31 (95% CI 1.04-1.65; p < 0.020) and after adjustment for important covariates increased to 1.45 (95% CI 1.14-1.84; p < 0.002).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that the development of TMD may be associated with exposure to IPV in women.

Clinical significance: In the first cohort to do so, we have identified a moderate association between Intimate partner violence exposure and subsequent development of TMD. This highlights an opportunity for screening of abuse in individuals presenting with TMD.