Association of Serum Vitamin D and Related Blood Biomarkers with Clinical and Psychological Outcomes in Patients with Temporomandibular Disorders

Purpose: Vitamin D 3 (25-hydroxyvitamin D) has been associated with pain-related conditions, but its relationship with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) remains unclear.This study evaluated associations of serum vitamin D 3 and related blood biomarkers with clinical and psychological outcomes in patients with arthrogenous TMD.Methods: Twenty-four patients with arthrogenous TMD and 31 healthy controls were evaluated.Venous blood samples were collected, and serum vitamin D 3 , parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, phosphorus, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and complete blood count were measured.Participants were classified into vitamin D 3 -deficient (<20 ng/mL) and normal subgroups.Clinical severity and psychological outcomes were assessed using the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R).Results: Serum vitamin D 3 , calcium, phosphorus, CRP, ESR, and complete blood count did not differ significantly between groups, whereas serum PTH was significantly lower in the TMD group.No SCL-90-R dimension differed significantly between vitamin D 3 subgroups in controls.In TMD patients, anxiety (ANX) and phobic anxiety scores were significantly higher in the vitamin D 3 -deficient subgroup.Serum vitamin D 3 was significantly correlated with PTH, calcium, and ANX scores in the total cohort.Conclusions: Serum vitamin D 3 was not significantly associated with TMD presence or pain severity.Lower vitamin D 3 levels were associated with selected psychological outcomes, particularly anxiety, within the TMD group; however, the cross-sectional design and small subgroups preclude causal or diagnostic inference.Vitamin D 3 may therefore be considered only a potential auxiliary indicator of psychological burden in TMD, pending confirmation in larger longitudinal studies.