Dados do Trabalho

Título

Sleep bruxism frequency related to hormonal changes: a cross-sectional assessment in women from a population sample from São Paulo (Brazil)

Introdução

Sleep patterns change throughout life among women, because of both aging and hormonal oscillations. These hormonal changes have a marked influence on the menopausal transition, increasing the complaints of postmenopausal sleep disorders. Sleep Bruxism (SB) affects a large portion of the general population, but its etiology remains unknown. Previous studies indicate that gender and hormonal changes might affect the incidence of SB. It is important to evaluate the effect of hormones changes on the prevalence of bruxism.

Objetivo

The aim of this study was evaluate whether the prevalence of SB was different due to the menopausal status, comparing premenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Métodos

This study was based on the database of the São Paulo Sleep Epidemiological Study (EPISONO), 3rd edition, a population-based cross-sectional study conducted in São Paulo in 2007. Participants (20-80 years old) undergone a full-night type-I polysomnography and answered both a sleep and a gynecological questionnaire. Diagnostic of bruxism was made in 2 steps: individuals who have self-reported SB had their polysomnographies evaluated for bruxism, based on electromyographic recordings of the masseter muscles. In the morning after the polysomnography, blood was collected to assess serum levels of LH, FSH, progesterone and 17-estradiol, which were used to distribute women into groups according to stage of life: reproductive age (premenopausal) or postmenopausal.

Resultados

The sample of the EPISONO study comprised 1,042, including 535 women. After hormonal analysis, 339 women were considered as premenopausal and 196 as postmenopausal. A total of 32 women were diagnosed with SB, being 11 in the premenopausal group and 21 in the postmenopausal group. The prevalence of SB in postmenopausal group was 10.7% and the prevalence in the premenopausal group was 3.2%. The prevalence ratio of SB was estimated as 3.3.

Conclusões

We observed that postmenopausal women have 3 times more chance to be diagnosticated with SB when compared with women of reproductive age. These findings suggest that the prevalence of SB should be analyzed in the face of hormonal changes present in these different phases of women's lives. Therefore, the menopausal transition and the postmenopausal period should be considered as a period of risk for the incidence of SB.

Palavras -chave

Sleep Bruxism, Hormones, Menopause, Women