Association between oral health-related quality of life and mental health among university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background: Mental health is bidirectionally associated with oral disorders Therefore, this study aims at assessing self-reported mental illness and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of group of university students in Riyadh city of Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study using a self-reported questionnaire that has several components such as Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) to identify the impact of oral health on different aspects of life and global rating of oral health, and mental health status by using Arabic translation of (depression (PHQ9-9items) and (generalized anxiety (GAD7-7 items) among group of university male and female students. All descriptive and correlation analysis were performed using STATA program (STATA Corp, College station, TX, US). Results: A total of 614 participants. 205 (33.4 %) of participants had high scores of OHIP-14 which indicates the negative effect on their quality of life. They reported facing difficulty pronouncing certain words due to oral-related issues by 71(11.6 %). A statistically significant correlation was found between participants who reported mental disorders and high OHIP-14 mean score. Findings showed that participant who reported having severe depression had the highest OHIP-14 mean score (19.3 SD ± 14.2) compared to participants with no depression or having mild or moderate depression, also those who reported having severe anxiety had highest OHIP-14 man score (16.3 SD ± 12.0) compared to participants with no anxiety or having mild or moderate anxiety. Conclusion: As findings indicated the negative impact on OHRQoL among participants with depression and anxiety, interventions should be planned in a comprehensive manner aiming at improving oral and mental health.