An Evaluation of Occupational Stress and Periodontal Status Among Indian Army Male Personnel: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Oral illnesses are multifactorialand also behavior-related. Stress and habits influence periodontal disease. Based on thispremise, assessing the influence of stress on military personnel and understanding its influence on oral and periodontal health becomes imperative. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occupational stress and periodontal status among Indian army personnel. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 1000 army personnel divided into four groups of 250 each. Group A had recruits, Group B had trainee officers, Group C personnel were serving in the army below the officer's rank and Group D had officers who were currently serving in the army. Oral Hygiene Index - Simplified (OHI-S), Gingival Bleeding Index (GBI), pocket depth, and clinical loss of attachment (CLOA) were assessed for periodontal status. Stress levels were evaluated using the Modified Occupational Stress Index Questionnaire. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was applied to compare OHI-S, GBI, presence of pocket depth, and occupational stress scores, while the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the occupational stress index and CLOA among the study groups. Significant differences were observed among the four groups in terms of OHI-S (p = 0.001), GBI (p = 0.001), CLOA (p = 0.001), occupational stress scores (p = 0.001), and occupational stress index (p = 0.001).Differences observed among the four groups regarding periodontal disease based on the presence of pockets were weakly significant (p = 0.05). On intergroup comparison, a significant association could not be established between the groups as the p-value was ≥ 0.05. However, a weak association could be established between Groups A and C with a p-value of 0.031. Participants with moderate to high occupational stress showed more risk of developing pockets and CLOAs as compared to those having low stress. The study revealed that the majority of army personnel were suffering from gingival bleeding and periodontal diseases; however, the association between stress level and periodontal diseases in Indian army personnel was less and not significant.