Determining the importance of risk factors for the occurrence of temporomandibular disorders in the population and among exposed individuals

There are many case-control (Ca-Co) studies in the literature on the importance of risk factors for the occurrence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). These studies typically report the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for each risk factor being studied. This paper presents other epidemiological measurements for evaluating the importance of risk factors for the occurrence of TMD. These measurements include the population attributable risk percent (PAR%) and the attributable risk percent (AR%). The AR% for parafunctional habits, facial trauma, and orthopedic instability were estimated to be 86%, 80%, and 60%, respectively, while the corresponding PAR% were estimated to be 60%, 38%, and 7%. PAR% underestimates the importance of a risk factor for the occurrence of TMD among individuals exposed to the risk factor. The attributable risk percent (AR%) is an appropriate epidemiological measurement to evaluate the importance of a risk factor for TMD among individuals exposed to the risk factor. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: This study used only openly available data from previously published articles. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data used in the submitted manuscript to calculate the various epidemiological measurements are available within the manuscript or in the cited references.