Prevalence of hypertension and correlation with mental health in women with burning mouth syndrome: A case-control study

Non-Communicable Diseases and Associated Risk Factors in Burning Mouth Syndrome Patients

Background and Objectives: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a group of non-transmissible conditions that tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental, and behavioral factors. Although an association between oral disorders and NCDs has been suggested, the relationship between Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) and NCDs and their associated risk factors has not been deeply investigated. In this study, we aim to identify associations between BMS and NCDs in the Romanian population. Materials and Methods: Ninety-nine BMS patients and 88 age-matched controls (aged 50 and over) were clinically evaluated for the presence of eight noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and their most common risk factors, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, and obesity. Results: The results of our study showed that the BMS in the Romanian population seems to be significantly associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) (p < 0.001) and two of their risk factors, hypertension (p < 0.001) and dyslipidemia (p < 0.001). Moreover, evaluating the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in the individuals not affected by CVDs (73 CTRL and 38 BMS), we found that 13.2% of BMS patients reported a moderate risk of developing CVDs in ten years, compared to the controls, all of whom presented a low risk (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a multidisciplinary clinical approach, which also includes a cardiovascular evaluation, is essential for the successful management of BMS. Moreover, these data highlighted the importance of introducing an integrated strategy for the prevention and care of NCDs in BMS patients.

Neuropsychological assessment of Romanian burning mouth syndrome patients: stress, depression, sleep disturbance, and verbal fluency impairments

Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) is a chronic condition characterized by a burning sensation in the oral mucosa, lasting more than 2 hours daily for more than 3 months, without clinical and/or laboratory evidence. BMS is often comorbid with mood, and psychiatric disorders, and a complex pathophysiology and interaction between impairments in nociceptive processing and psychologic function is occurring. In this work, we aimed to define the neuropsychological profile specific for BMS patients for a better management of this complex disease. We conducted a case-control study comparing 120 BMS patients and 110 non-BMS individuals (CTRL). Sociodemographic data and lifestyle habits, were collected, along with data regarding quality of life (SF-36 scale), stress (PSS), depression and anxiety (MADRS and HADS scales), sleep quality (PSQI scale), and cognitive functions (MoCA, SVF and PVF tests). The statistical analysis revealed a lower general quality of life (p < 0.001), worse sleep quality (p < 0.001) in BMS patients than CTRL. The BMS patients also displayed a higher prevalence of mild depressive symptoms than CTRL applying the MADRS (p < 0.001) and HADS-Depression scales (p = 0.001), whereas no differences in anxiety symptoms were found between the two groups (p = 0.174). Moreover, reduced scores semantic and phonemic verbal fluency tests (p < 0.05) were found, but no change in cognition was observed through MoCA (p = 0.551). Our results highlight that synergy between dentistry and neuropsychiatric assessment is essential for a successful management of BMS.