Correlation of psychological stress with recurrent aphthous stomatitis among dental students in an educational institution

Abstract

Background: Stress related disorders are one of the leading causes of morbidity and even the dental students have been one of the bearers of this condition. So an attempt was made to correlate psychological stress level and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) among dental graduates. Material and methods: The study was planned among 160 students by using a proforma including questions on experience of RAS. Stress of the students was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The data was analyzed by using SPSS version 17 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Binary logistic regression analysis to evaluate the influence of the different stress levels on RAS. The level of significance was fixed at p < 0.05 for all comparisons. Results: Overall 55% gave history of RAS and mostly subjects experienced its frequency once in a year i.e. 24.7%. The most common sites affected with apthous ulcer were Cheeks (15.8%), Lips (12.2%) and Tongue (9.9%). The distribution of RAS was more prominent in female participants and students of first professional year. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) showed a positive correlation of stress with the occurrence of RAS. Conclusion: More than half of the students experienced from RAS and the prevalence was correlated with stress level. Clinical significance: The results revealed that higher stress level is the precipitating factor for the occurrence of recurrent aphthous ulcer in this study group.