Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders and its clinical signs in Chinese students, 1979–2017: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

OBJECTIVE: This study intends to assess the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders and its clinical signs in Chinese students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Search strategies were performed in seven electronic databases, and the reference lists from potentially relevant studies were searched manually. Only observational studies that met the eligibility criteria were selected. A validated instrument was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled prevalence of temporomandibular disorders and its clinical signs. RESULTS: Twenty-three articles that met the eligibility criteria were included in this review and meta-analysis. The prevalence of temporomandibular disorders was 29.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.7-35.1; n = 12,702), and a significant difference was observed between males and females. The most prevalent sign was temporomandibular joint sounds (17.4%; 95% CI, 13.8-20.6; n = 6,615) followed by abnormal jaw movement (12.3%; 95% CI, 9.1-16.7; n = 5,496) and pain (9.9%; 95% CI, 7.4-13; n = 4,552). CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in Chinese students was approximately 29.1%, and a statistically significant difference was observed between males and females. The most prevalent sign was temporomandibular joint sounds (17.4%), followed by abnormal jaw movement (12.3%) and pain (9.9%).