Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find out the difference of heart rate variability (HRV) depending on the presence of symptoms related to temporomandibular disorder (TMD), and analyze the validity and clinical relevance from 5-minute HRV data in assessing the psychosocial factors that may contribute to the etiology of the TMD. 74 patients with malocclusion aged from 20 to 40 were divided into two groups depending on the presence of TMD-related symptoms (Group A consists of malocclusion patients who had TMD symptoms and group B has malocclusion patients with no symptoms), and in both groups 5-minute HRV was measured. As a result of time-domain analysis, SDNN (standard deviation of the averages of NN intervals), RMSSD (The square root of the mean of the squared) and pNN50 (NN50 count divided by the total number of all NN intervals) were lower in group A, and the frequency-domain analysis also showed lower PSD values of TP (total power), LF (PSD in low frequency) and HF (PSD in low frequency) in group A. R (ratio of LF and HF) was in the normal range in both groups. HRV is a useful diagnostic tool that can be used to assess the psychosocial factors of TMD in malocclusion patients. (Korean J Str Res 2010;18:41∼49)

• Keywords: Temporomandibular joint disorder, Heart rate variability, Autonomic nervous system;