Investigation of the effects of body mass index and anxiety on masseter muscle thickness on ultrasonography

INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF BODY MASS INDEX AND ANXIETY ON MASSETER MUSCLE THICKNESS ON ULTRASONOGRAPHY The modern world order and working life have many negative effects on people. Obesity and anxiety are among these negative effects. According to the World Health Organization, there is an increase in the epidemic size in obesity and according to 2022 data, 2/3 of the people in Europe are described as overweight and obese. It is stated that overweight, which is seen as the most important cause of mortality in the European continent, causes the death of 1.3 million people every year. Anxiety, which emerged as a result of many factors such as a stressful life during the day and difficult working conditions, has become a part of our lives. People with anxiety are clenching their teeth, tangibly or not, and keeping their chewing systems constantly active. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effects of anxiety and body mass index on the thickness of the masseter muscle using an ultrasonography device. In this study, a control group and 3 study groups were formed. Body mass index classification in the groups was made according to the groups determined by WHO. The groups were formed with patients who were considered normal and overweight according to the presence of anxiety and body mass index according to WHO classification. Measurements of the right and left masseter muscles of the patients at rest-contraction states were made using ultrasonography. According to the results of these measurements, it was observed that the masseter muscle thickness increased significantly in patients with high body mass index and anxiety (p<0.05). As a result, it is thought that the presence of anxiety and obesity cause hypertrophy in the masseter muscle. Keywords: anxiety, masseter muscle, obesity, ultrasonography, body mass index