일부 남자 고등학생의 학업 스트레스와 측두하악장애 증상과의 관계

Relationship between Academic Stress and Symptoms of Temporomandibular Disorders in Some Male High School Students

Objectives: The objective of this study is to understand the relationship between academic stress and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) among male high school students. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted at a boy’s high school in Gyeongnam. Of 210 copies distributed, 203 were included in the analysis using IBM SPSS 25.0. Results: Among the subjective symptoms of TMDs, discomfort in occlusion showed the highest score in association with academic stress (49.96 points, p < 0.001), followed by pain during mastication (48.94 points, p < 0.05), jaw fatigue (48.72 points, p < 0.01), limitation of mouth opening (47.77 points, p < 0.01), headache (46.43 points, p < 0.001), and joint noise (42.70 points). Regarding academic stress according to TMD severity, the severe group had the highest score (49.77 points), followed by the moderate group (44.39 points), the mild group (39.67 points), and the asymptomatic group (35.30 points), showing statistically significant differences (p < 0.001). TMD severity showed a positive correlation with academic stress (r = 0.370, p < 0.01) and oral parafunctional habits (r = 0.336, p < 0.01). In addition, oral parafunctional habits were positively correlated with academic stress (r = 0.251, p < 0.01). Conclusions: High school students experience considerable academic stress, which can lead to oral parafunctional habits and TMDs. Therefore, it is necessary to provide various activities that help alleviate the stress of high school students.