Association between severe asthma and changes in the stomatognathic system

OBJECTIVE: To describe orofacial muscle function in patients with severe asthma. METHODS: This was a descriptive study comparing patients with severe controlled asthma (SCA) and severe uncontrolled asthma (SUA). We selected 160 patients, who completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and the 6-item Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-6), as well as undergoing evaluation of orofacial muscle function. RESULTS: Of the 160 patients evaluated, 126 (78.8%) and 34 (21.2%) presented with SCA and SUA, respectively, as defined by the Global Initiative for Asthma criteria. Regardless of the level of asthma control, the most frequent changes found after evaluation of muscle function were difficulty in chewing, oronasal breathing pattern, below-average or poor dental arch condition, and difficulty in swallowing. When the sample was stratified by FEV(1) (% of predicted), was significantly higher proportions of SUA group patients, compared with SCA group patients, showed habitual open-mouth chewing (24.8% vs. 7.7%; p < 0.02), difficulty in swallowing water (33.7% vs. 17.3%; p < 0.04), and voice problems (81.2% vs. 51.9%; p < 0.01). When the sample was stratified by ACQ-6 score, the proportion of patients showing difficulty in swallowing bread was significantly higher in the SUA group than in the SCA group (66.6% vs. 26.6%; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of changes in the stomatognathic system appears to be high among adults with severe asthma, regardless of the level of asthma control. We found that some such changes were significantly more common in patients with SUA than in those with SCA.