Quality of life and level of physical activity of individuals with temporomandibular disorders with and without otological symptoms: Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study

Background and purpose: Otological symptoms (OS) are highly prevalent in individuals with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Individuals with TMD and OS have more neck disability and decreased deep neck muscles endurance when compared to individuals without OS. However, no studies have evaluated whether OS is associated with lower Quality of Life (QoL) and worse levels of physical activity. This study aimed to evaluate the QoL and level of physical activity of individuals with TMD with and without OS. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 62 individuals with TMD were allocated into 2 groups: TMD with OS (n = 36) or TMD without OS (n = 26). Self-reported complaints of dizziness, vertigo, tinnitus, earache, ear fullness, or hypoacusis were considered as OS. QoL was assessed with the WHOQOL-Bref and physical activity with the IPAQ-SF. Independent t-test and chi-squared test were used for analysis between-groups. Effect sizes were reported using Cohen's d. A Pearson correlation was used to compare the number of OS and QoL scores. A significance level of p < 0.05% and 95% confidence intervals were considered statistically significant. Results: The total generic scores for QoL were not different between-groups (p = 0.076), but individuals with TMD with OS had lower satisfaction (p = 0.015; d: 0.63) and physical domain (p = 0.015; d: 0.64) scores with a moderate effect size. In TMD with OS, 69.4% of individuals were irregularly active and 50% for the TMD without OS, with no statistical significance (p > 0.05). The number of OSs was inversely and weakly associated with the QoL total score. Conclusion: Individuals with TMD and OS are associated with worsened QoL (physical domain and satisfaction) when compared to individuals with TMD without OS. The higher the number of OS, the worse the QoL score. Individuals with TMD with and without OS had similar levels of physical activity, but a high prevalence of irregularly active and sedentary individuals within TMD diagnosed population was found.