Working hours impact on the sleep quality and oral health status among migrant construction workers in Chennai

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, a shift in our lifestyle which espouses long working hours and low sleep quality can have a direct impact on the general health and oral health status. Sleep deprivation results from intense long working hours. AIM: To recognize the impact of long working hours, on sleep and oral health assessments of migrant construction workers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among migrant construction workers working in Chennai comprised of 1,521 participants. The sleep quality was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Scale-7 and the working hours was found using the Google forms and their oral health status was assessed using the Oral hygiene index- Simplified (OHIS-S) and the Decayed Missing and Filled teeth (DMFT) index. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistical Software version 23.0. Statistical tests like the Chi-square association and one-way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) (normally distributed) were used for the analysis of three group comparisons. RESULTS: From the study results, most of the participants were between 25 and 35 years, smokers, had negligence on oral health and had poor sleep quality due to their long working hours. On the association between the working hours per week and OHIS, DMFT and Insomnia Severity Scale total score, a statistically significant relationship was found using the one-way ANOVA. CONCLUSION: The results from our study brought neglected oral health care of the construction workers into the limelight which will help us in our future efforts to improve the oral health of the construction workers.