Archives of Current Research International

Social vulnerability can trigger various disorders due to everyday factors that compromise quality of life and influence physical pain. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD), anxiety, and depression in homeless individuals. This is cross-sectional observational study, where sociodemographic questionnaires, the Diagnostic Criteria for Research (DC/TMD) symptom questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HAD) were applied to 40 homeless individuals in Brasília/DF. Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, and Cohen's d'Or with Hedges correction were used to evaluate the study variables in SPSS, considering a significance level of 5% (p≤0.05). It was observed that 42.5% of participants reported having experienced pain in the jaw, temple, ear, or anterior region of the ear, while 57.5% denied this symptom It can be observed that the average number of positive responses was 4.88 (SD 2.32), indicating that, on average, participants presented approximately five positive responses on the instrument. Anxiety showed a mean of 11.25, with a low standard deviation (0.46), depression, on the other hand, showed a mean of 9.58, with a standard deviation of 1.11. The association between anxiety, depression, and chronic pain may increase the risk or worsening of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in homeless individuals. In the present study, homeless individuals presented symptoms of TMD, with high levels of chronic pain in this group, in addition to concerning rates of anxiety and depression, especially in the female population.