Onychophagia is Associated with Impairment of Quality of Life

Abstract

Onychophagia is defined as a chronic nail biting behaviour affecting about 20-30% of the general population. However, nail biting seems to be an ignored problem in a daily clinical practice. We have analysed the influence of onychophagia on quality of life (QoL) and stigmatisation level among 339 medical students with and without nail biting. Those with onychophagia demonstrated significantly higher QoL impairment compared to the controls (p < 0.001). Subjects who had been unable to stop nail biting behaviour in the past (p < 0.01) had visible nail abnormalities (p = 0.03), spent more time on nail biting (p = 0.02) and with a higher number of involved fingernails (p = 0.03), demonstrated further impaired QoL. Furthermore, tension before or when trying to resist nail biting (β = 12.5; p < 0.001), suffering due to nail biting (β =12.6; p = 0.001) and nail eating behaviour (β = -7.5; p < 0.01) were independent variables influencing QoL. Participants with onychophagia also demonstrated higher level of stigmatisation (0.6 ± 1.2 vs. 0.2 ± 0.6 points, p < 0.01), although in both groups the stigmatisation level was low.

Effect of somatosensory amplification and trait anxiety on experimentally induced orthodontic pain

“…During clenching, masseter and temporalis are similarly recruited, but during incisal biting masseter muscles are dominant over the temporalis muscles . Incisal biting (for example, during nail biting) seems to be related to anxious and depressed personality disposition . This, in turn, might have caused a difference in pain outcomes only for the masseter muscle.…”

The effectiveness of a nail‐biting prevention program among primary school students

“…Infection is another possible result of nail‐biting, which leads not only to local infections (e.g., chronic paronychia, subungual infection, onychomycosis, severe damage to the nail bed causing onycholysis), but also to systemic infections. It is reported that a significantly higher prevalence of Escherichia coli and Enterobacteriaceae is found in nail‐biters compared to other people (Baydaş, Uslu, Yavuz, Ceylan, & Dağsuyu, ; Pacan et al., ).…”

“…Studies show that the nail‐biting habit starts at the age of 3 or 4, worsens at the age of 5 or 6 and in adolescence, and diminishes after the age of 18 (Ghanizadeh, ; Pacan, Reich, Grzesiak, & Szepıetowskı, ; Tanaka et al., ). International literature reports that the prevalence of nail‐biting ranges between 25.5% and 36% among children (Ghanizadeh, ; Pacan et al., ) while it ranges between 12.9% and 68.9% in the national literature (Ergun, Toprak, & Sisman, ; Sisman, Tok, & Ergun, ; Yıldırım, Bayram, Patır, Yalçın, & Seymen, ). However, nail‐biting seems to be ignored in daily clinical practices.…”

“…In addition to feeling ashamed or under social pressure constantly (Pacan et al., ), children who bite their nails may also be punished for this habit. Researchers reported that students who bite their nails had a lower quality of life (QoL) and a higher stigmatization rate compared to other students (Ghanizadeh, ; Pacan et al., ).…”

Thumbs-Up - Wearable Sensing Device for Detecting Hand-to-Mouth Compulsive Habits

“…A wearable device, detecting hand-tomouth habits in real-time, would mitigate these impediments, advancing therapeutic interventions and personal health monitoring. With aetiologies including anxiety, loneliness, frustration, and more, such a device could even serve as a diagnostic tool to reflect on quality of life impairments (Pacan et al, 2014).…”