Oral health status and related quality of life among tobacco factory and cotton ginning mill workers in Guntur city, Andhra Pradesh, India

INTRODUCTIONThe study was carried out to assess and compare the oral health status and oral health-related quality of life among tobacco factory workers and cotton ginning mill workers in Guntur city, Andhra Pradesh, India.METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried among 160 tobacco factory workers and 160 cotton ginning mill workers aged 25-55 years.A simple random sampling methodology was used.The data were collected using a questionnaire and clinical examination.The questionnaire gathered information on demographic factors, factors related to the working environment, adverse habits of the study subjects and oral health-related quality of life using Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14).The subjects were clinically examined to assess their oral health status using WHO Oral Health Assessment Form (2013).RESULTS The prevalences among tobacco factory workers and among cotton ginning mill workers, respectively, were: tobacco chewing habit 38.1% and 15%; periodontal pockets 47.5% and 31.25%;loss of attachment 56.8% and 28.7%; oral mucosal lesions 13.8% and 3.8%; while the corresponding mean OHIP-14 scores were 20.81±11.59 and 16.29±9.67.All results were found to be significantly higher among tobacco factory workers compared to cotton ginning mill workers (p<0.05).All the domains of OHIP-14 were found to have a very high statistically significant positive correlation with DMFT, DMFS, periodontal pocket depth and loss of attachment in both study groups (p<0.001).The availability of tobacco in the workplace was found to be a significant barrier to quit tobacco among tobacco factory workers.CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of periodontal diseases, oral mucosal lesions, use of tobacco and the OHIP-14 scores were all found to be significantly higher among tobacco factory workers compared to cotton ginning mill workers.OHIP-14 scores correlated significantly with clinical oral health status indicators in both study groups.

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