Evaluation of relationship between stress and periodontal disease in different professional college students

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the association between stress and periodontitis in different professional college students. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in 360 professional college students which includes Medical, Dental, Pharmacy, Nursing, Engineering, and Chartered Accountancy. From each group, 60 students were included in the study. Self-reported Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale questionnaire was given to all the students and clinical examination was conducted in all the participants to assess the Oral hygiene index - simplified (OHI-S), clinical attachment level (CAL), and Gingival Index Simplified (GI-S). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statistics was performed using the ANOVA test, post hoc test, and Pearson correlation test to compare the psychological parameter of stress with periodontal parameters among six groups of students. P <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: Group I showed higher mean stress scores (10.78 ± 0.76) compared to other groups. The mean OHI-S (1.61 ± 0.15), mean CAL (3.68 ± 0.79), and mean GI-S (1.43 ± 0.15) scores also increased with elevated stress levels among medical students. Followed by Group VI and Group II showed almost similar results. CONCLUSION: The present study showed strong association between stress and periodontal disease and have an adverse effect over oral hygiene factors among the students.