Perceived stress and bruxism in university students

Background

Many studies have shown the correlation between bruxism and stress that affects the quality of life of university students. The present study highlights this correlation—for the first time—in a group of university students in Italy.

Methods

We have investigated the prevalence of awake and asleep bruxism and its correlation with perceived stress in a group of 278 Italian undergraduate students (117 M). A self report questionnaire was constructed using a socio-demographic test, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the item n. 8 of the Fonseca Questionnaire for presence of bruxism.

Results

The perceived stress score using PSS-10 scale was 32.2 (SD 4.6, 95% CL 31.6–32.7) for all the subjects, with significant gender difference: M = 31.2 and F = 32.9 (P = 0.0019). The prevalence for awake bruxism was 37.9% (F = 40.8%; M = 34.2%,), while for sleep bruxism was 31.8% (F = 33.3%; M = 29.1%), both without significant gender difference. A positive correlation, with significant concordance and dependence, between stress score and awake bruxism was present for male students only.

Conclusions

University students showed higher bruxism and stress levels compared to the general population, with higher stress for females, but, even if female students show higher stress, a correlation between stress and bruxism exists only for male gender. Further studies should be performed.