Dr. Adams' Alabama Headache Blog

A recent discussion in regards to the comparison of the prevalence of psychologic, dental, and temporomandibular disorder signs and symptoms between young women suffering from chronic eating disorders and a control group of age-matched, healthy women, and to evaluate the impact of frequent vomiting on these signs and symptoms among the eating disorder group. Women with eating disorder showed a significantly higher sensitivity to muscle palpation and higher levels of depression, somatization, and anxiety, as well as a higher prevalence of intensive gum chewing, dental erosions and attrition, than the healthy controls. Vomitting patients showed higher muscle sensitivity to palpation than nonvomitting patients and greater emotional and psychologic distress. Women with chronic eating disorders suffer from higher muscular sensitivity to palpation, greater emotional distress, and more hard tissue destruction (dental erosions, dental sensitivity) than healthy women.