Antecedents of Burning Mouth Syndrome (Glossodynia)-Recent Life Events vs. Psychopathologic Aspects

• Published in: Journal of dental research Vol. 73; no. 2; pp. 567 - 572
• Main Authors: Eli, I., Kleinhauz, M., Baht, R., Littner, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.02.1994
• Subjects: Burning Mouth Syndrome - etiology; Burning Mouth Syndrome - psychology; Case-Control Studies; Chi-Square Distribution; Dentistry; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Jews; Life Change Events; Male; Marital Status; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Personality Inventory; Stress, Psychological - complications; Surveys and Questionnaires; Glossodynia; BMS; Psychopathology; Life Events
• ISSN: 0022-0345; 1544-0591
• DOI: 10.1177/00220345940730021301

Burning mouth syndrome-BMS (also known as glossodynia, glossalgia, glossopyrosis, or oral dysesthesia)-primarily affects middle-aged women. Many possible etiologies have been proposed to account for the syndrome; most are still unsubstantiated. One possible suggested etiology involves the presence of psychological components. In this study, 45 BMS patients and 45 age-, sex-, ethnic origin-, socio-economic status-, and education-matched control subjects were evaluated for their psychopathologic profile and existence of recent life events. All subjects were requested to complete the SCL-90 questionnaire and a Recent Life Changes questionnaire. The BMS patients scored significantly higher on all SCL-90 scales except one. A MANOVA test to evaluate the overall group effect was significant at the 0.0001 level. No differences between groups were found for recent life events. The data suggest that although BMS patients are subjected to elevated psychological stress, initiation of BMS symptoms is not necessarily correlated with stressful life events.