Volume 27, Issue 139, September 2023

The association between Oral Health and Depression among university students in Makkah city: A web-based survey study

Abdullah Alutaibi^1♦, Salah Bakry², Saad Albagami², Moayad Hadi¹, Abdulrahman Aboalreesh¹, Ahmed Fudah¹, Majed Alqahtani¹, Sufana Alattas¹, Alawi Alaidarous¹, Alaa Aljohani¹, Saad Aljabri¹, Fasial Alotaibi¹, Mohamed A Elhefny^3,4

¹Faculty of Dentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
²Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
³Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Al-Qunfudah, Saudi Arabia
⁴Department of Cancer and Molecular Biology, NCI, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

^♦Corresponding author
Faculty of Dentistry, Umm Al -Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Oral health encompasses a global health burden. Recently, a connection between oral health and depression was detected in many studies. Our study aimed to determine the association level between oral health and depression among university students in Makkah City. Methodology: A survey-based study was conducted via online social media channels utilizing two validated standardized tools: Oral Health Impact Profile-14 questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9. Results: 534 students were included in this survey; the Mean age was 21.3 with (SD=2.03)—most students aged 20 years old, 21.91%. Most participants had good levels of oral health, 94.19%, while most of the participants, on the other hand, had mild levels of depression, 38.58%. A statistically significant association was found between those with mild levels of depression and those with good levels of oral health (P-value, ˃0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrated an association between oral health and depression among university students in Makkah City. More research is advised to support the results.

Keywords: Oral Health, Depression, Students, Saudi Arabia

Medical Science, 2023, 27, e352ms3221

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v27i139.e352ms3221

Published: 18 September 2023