Korszun, A, Papadopoulos, E, Demitrack, M et al. · Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology, oral radiology, and endodontics · 1998 · DOI
This study looked at how often jaw joint problems (temporomandibular disorder) occur together with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia. Researchers found that 42% of patients with these conditions also had jaw problems, and most of these patients had developed their general symptoms before their jaw pain started. Interestingly, most were treated only for the jaw problem with bite splints, even though they had multiple related conditions.
Understanding the comorbid relationship between TMD and ME/CFS/fibromyalgia is important because many patients may be receiving incomplete care if jaw symptoms are treated in isolation. This study suggests that stress-response system dysfunction may underlie multiple seemingly unrelated symptoms, supporting the need for integrated treatment approaches rather than single-symptom management.
This study does not establish that TMD causes ME/CFS or vice versa—it only shows they often occur together. The cross-sectional design means we cannot determine temporal relationships or causality. The study also does not directly measure hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function; the proposed mechanism is inferred rather than directly tested.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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