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Aims: To investigate whether TMD-related characteristics are indeed specific to TMD or whether they are also associated with other chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs)., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 22 characteristics related broadly to TMD (eg, jaw kinesiophobia, overuse behaviors, and functional limitation) were measured in 178 painful TMD cases who were also classified according to four COPCs: headache, low back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Differences in mean subscale scores were compared according to individual chronic pain conditions and according to number of COPCs., Results: Headache, low back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia were each associated (P < .05) with higher values of at least one TMD-relevant characteristic. In the multivariable analysis, TMD was independently associated with 20 of the 22 characteristics (P < .01), and other COPCs were associated variably. A critical threshold existed between the number of COPCs and TMD characteristics: all characteristics were elevated for subjects with ≥ 3 COPCs (P ≤ .01)., Conclusion: The overlap between COPCs and characteristics typically regarded as specific to painful TMD has implications for treatment targeted at both the local TMD condition and the broader pain disorder underlying the COPC(s). In TMD patients, the overall burden of pain from COPCs may create a shift in the pain-processing systems that underlie these TMD-relevant characteristics.

Aims: To characterize psychologic functioning across five chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs)-temporomandibular disorders, fibromyalgia, low back pain, headache, and irritable bowel syndrome-and their overlaps., Methods: Participants were 655 adults in the OPPERA study. Psychologic variables were standardized in separate logistic regression models to compare their relative strength of association with each COPC. Random forest regression was used to explore the association of all psychologic measures with COPCs simultaneously. Linear regression analyses examined whether the count of COPCs was associated with psychologic measures., Results: In univariate and multivariable analyses, measures of somatic symptom burden showed the strongest associations with individual COPCs and with the number of COPCs. Additional psychologic variables that showed significant associations with individual COPCs and their overlap included negative mood, perceived stress, and pain catastrophizing., Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of psychologic functioning in the assessment and management of these overlapping pain conditions.

Aims: To quantify the contributions of atopic disorders, sleep disturbance, and other health conditions to five common pain conditions., Methods: This cross-sectional analysis used data from 655 participants in the OPPERA study. The authors investigated the individual and collective associations of five chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs) with medically diagnosed atopic disorders and self-reported sleep disturbance, fatigue, and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. Atopic disorders were allergies, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic asthma, urticaria, allergic conjunctivitis, and food allergy. Logistic regression models estimated odds ratios as measures of association with temporomandibular disorders, headache, irritable bowel syndrome, low back pain, and fibromyalgia. Measures of sleep and atopy disorders were standardized to z scores to determine the relative strength of their associations with each COPC. Sociodemographic characteristics and body mass index were covariates. Random forest regression analyzed all variables simultaneously, computing importance metrics to determine which variables best differentiated pain cases from controls., Results: Fatigue and sleep disturbance were strongly associated with each COPC and with the total number of COPCs. An increase of one standard deviation in fatigue or sleep disturbance score was associated with approximately two-fold greater odds of having a COPC. In random forest models, atopic disorders contributed more than other health measures to differentiating between cases and controls of headache, whereas other COPCs were best differentiated by measures of fatigue or sleep., Conclusion: Atopic disorders, previously recognized as predictors of poor sleep, are associated with COPCs after accounting for sleep problems.

Aims: To investigate associations between experimental pain sensitivity and five chronic pain conditions among 655 participants in the OPPERA study., Methods: Quantitative sensory tests were used to measure sensitivity to three modalities of nociception: blunt pressure pain, mechanical pinprick pain, and thermal heat pain. Participants were also classified according to the presence or absence of five chronic pain conditions: temporomandibular disorders, headache, low back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia., Results: Univariate analyses found each modality to be significantly associated with at least one pain condition, most consistently for pressure pain sensitivity (8 of 15 instances) and least consistently for heat pain sensitivity (5 of 35 instances). Yet, multivariable analyses that evaluated the independent contributions of all five pain conditions found few significant associations (12 of 75 instances). Instead, pain sensitivity consistently varied according to the total number of pain conditions a person experienced, implying that the combination of pain conditions influences each nociceptive modality., Conclusion: When evaluating nociceptive sensitivity in a chronic pain patient, comorbid pain conditions should be considered, as the more salient feature underlying sensitivity is likely the number rather than the type(s) of pain conditions.