Association of pain intensity, pain-related disability, and depression with hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis function in female patients with chronic temporomandibular disorders.

Patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) commonly experience myofascial and joint pain, pain-related disability, and other pain conditions including depression. The present study was carried out to explore the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in relation to variables of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) Axis II and comorbid depression in female patients with TMD. Cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels were determined in saliva samples that had been collected at various periods after waking (0, 30, and 60min) and at nighttime (2100-2200h) from 52 female patients with chronic TMD pain and age- and gender-matched controls (n=54, 20-40 years old).