The association between orofacial pain and abnormal illness behavior in the community in Hong Kong

Abstract

Objective To investigate the associations between orofacial pain （OFP）symptoms and illness behavior in the community-dwelling people in Hong Kong. Methods A community-based， cross-sectional case-control study involving people aged 35 - 70 registered with the Hospital Authority ／ University of Hong Kong Family Medicine Clinic served as the sampling frame. People with recent OFP symptoms and a group without such symptoms were participated. Standard questions were asked about OFP conditions in the previous month. Illness behavior was assessed using the 30-item Illness Behavior Questionnaire （IBQ-30）. Results Two hundred people with OFP symptoms and 200 without OFP took part. OFP was statistically related to 5 of 7 sub-scales of the IBQ-30 （P ＜ 0.001）： general hypochondriasis， disease conviction， affective disturbance， denial， and irritability. Differences in percentage distribution of IBQ-30 scores between different age groups were only detected in the sub-scale of denial with more elderly respondents with pain （55.0％ vs 38.0％， P ＝ 0.034）. Illness behaviour did not appear to be related to clinical classification of OFP. Conclusions OFP was significantly associated with illness behavior. Findings have clinical implication for effective management of OFP.

目的 探討香港人群中口腔頜面部疼痛(OFP)與異常疾病行為的相關性。方法 本研究為在社區人群中進行的橫斷面的病例-對照研究。研究樣本為注冊在香港醫院管理局/香港大學家庭醫學部的35～70歲香港居民。通過面對面問診結合臨床檢查了解受訪者在過去1個月中口腔頜面部疼痛的狀況。疾病行為由30條的患病行為問卷(IBQ-30)進行評估。結果 200名有口腔頜面部疼痛癥狀的人及200名沒有痛癥的人參加本研究。口腔頜面部疼痛與IBQ-30量表中的5個分量表(一般疑病、疾病信念、情感紊亂、否認心理問題、易激惹)相關性有統計學意義(P<0.001)。在有痛癥的人中,在否認心理問題分量表,老年組高分值的人數明顯多于中年組(P=0.034)。口腔頜面部疼痛癥狀不同臨床分組的IBQ-30分值差異無統計學意義。結論 口腔頜面部疼痛與異常疾病行為顯著相關,在治療口腔頜面部疼痛病癥患者時,需考慮衡量精神心理因素所起的作用。