Investigation of the psychological factors associated with fissured tongue

• Main Authors: Heron Fernando de Sousa GONZAGA, Lucinei Roberto de OLIVEIRA, Bruna Lavinas Sayed PICCIANI, Maria Lúcia Jorge de Sousa GONZAGA, Sílvia Angélica JORGE, Maria Augusta JORGE, Jane TOMIMORI
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Faculdade São Leopoldo Mandic 2019-05-01
• Series: RGO: Revista Gaúcha de Odontologia
• Subjects: anxiety; dentistry; fissured tongue
• Online Access: https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1981-86372019000100308&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between FT and anxiety. Methods: The sample consisted of 95 participants categorized into two groups: a) G-FT, 48 patients with FT and b) CG, 47 healthy participants. All patients were submitted to complete oral and dermatological examinations. The anxiety levels were measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Fourteen (30%) patients reported awareness of having FT and 9 (64%) were women. Symptoms like burning feeling were reported by 3 (6%) only patients, all of then women. None of the control group patients presented these symptoms. In both groups, control and FT, the average scores of trait-anxiety were slightly higher than state-anxiety. There were no statistically significant differences between the FT and the control group related to the state-anxiety (p=0.724) and the trait-anxiety (p=0.680) scores. Study limitations: This study was limited by the number of subjects. Conclusion: Although moderate state-anxiety and trait-anxiety scores were determined, anxiety, as an environmental factor may not play a significant role in the development of FT. Considering FT as a multifactorial disease, probably a genetic component is necessary for expression.