Well-Being and General Anxiety Among University of Michigan Dental Students

BackgroundAnxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health conditions, affecting approximately 1 in 9 people worldwide. More specifically, dental students have been considered vulnerable to anxiety despite the fact that dental students have also reported high levels of well-being. Therefore, we hypothesize that University of Michigan School of Dentistry (UMSOD) dental students pose high levels of well-being but suffer from anxiety. Our objective is to measure anxiety and well-being levels among UMSOD dental students for 2 consecutive academic years.MethodsDental students (N = 609) were surveyed for well-being and general anxiety levels. To assess well-being and anxiety levels we used the World Health Organization–Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) questionnaire and the General Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, respectively. Surveys were sent through Qualtrics. For statistical analysis, chi-square and t test were used at p < 0.05.ResultsThe mean well-being score among dental students was 12.26 (SD = 1.14). In the first survey moment for anxiety, which coincided with the week before the spring break in 2017, approximately 39% of the respondents (n = 255) scored 10 or higher on the GAD-7, which means moderate anxiety. In the second survey moment, the week after the spring break week in 2017, we found a slight but not significant reduction in anxiety levels, with approximately 32% of the responses (n = 109) of the dental students scoring 10 or higher on the GAD-7. Incoming first-year dental students before starting the dental school program presented well-being mean of 18 (SD = 0.60). Only 13% of incoming first-year dental students scored 10 or higher on anxiety before starting the school program. By the fall term, the well-being mean among incoming first-year dental students dropped to 13.29 (SD = 1.32), and 22% of the incoming first-year dental students scored 10 or higher in the GAD-7.ConclusionsUniversity of Michigan School of Dentistry dental students posed poor well-being and moderate anxiety. Incoming first-year dental students posed higher well-being and lower anxiety levels before starting the dental education program. However, as the academic year developed, incoming first-year dental students suffered a decrease in well-being and an increase in anxiety levels. Our study indicates a trend of poor well-being and high anxiety among UMSOD dental students.

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Dental Anxiety and Its Possible Effects on Caries Prevalence Among Group of Dental Students In Kathmandu Medical College

Journal of Nepalgunj Medical College ◽

10.3126/jngmc.v17i2.31661 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 78-81

Author(s):

Deepak Kumar Roy ◽

Punam Basnet Dixit ◽

Siddharth Ghimire ◽

Roshan Kumar Roy ◽

Aashish Pandey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Dental Anxiety ◽

Dental Students ◽

World Health ◽

First Year ◽

Caries Prevalence ◽

Medical College ◽

Dental Hospital ◽

The Mean

Introduction: The prevalence of high dental anxiety varies from 2% to 30% worldwide depending on the study population, the methods applied, and the cut-off scores used. There is strong evidence that dental anxiety is associated with dental attendance; it has been reported that individuals with higher dental anxiety tend to visit the dentist irregularly, which in turn may lead to deterioration in oral health. Studies have demonstrated that dental anxiety is associated with poor self-reported and clinically assigned oral health, more decayed and missing teeth, fewer filled teeth and worse periodontal health. Dental students are the future dental doctors who will be dealing with fearful patients in future. Knowing the facts on dental anxiety will have positive impact while treating and dealing such patients. Objectives: The overall objectives of the study were to assess level of anxiety and its possible effect on prevalence of caries among dental students studying at Kathmandu medical college and Dental hospital. Specific: To access the level of anxiety among dental students of different years (from first year to final year) along it was further focused to analyse the level of anxiety among male and female dental students. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted to choose a random convenient sample. The data were collected from dental students of first year to final year studying at Kathmandu medical college dental hospital–KMCDH. A structured questionnaire based on modified dental anxiety scale was used to collect the data. Patients were examined for dental caries prevalence using decay, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index according to World Health Organisation guidelines. Results: The highest MDAS was seen among the younger batches and the mean values for MDAS declined with higher batch of dental students. The mean dental anxiety score for males was 8.9 and 15.5 for females. The difference was statistically significant the most fearful stimulus in dental clinic for both genders was local anesthetic injection, followed by drilling of teeth. Conclusion: Dental anxiety remains a significant problem for many patients of both gender and different age groups of examined students. Dental anxiety has a negative effect on oral health status by increasing the prevalence of decayed teeth. Further studies should be carried out using large random samples before generalizing this conclusion.

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Assessing the level of Happiness among dental students of Pakistan: Web-based study

10.53350/pjmhs211571629 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (7) ◽

pp. 1629-1632

Author(s):

Beenish Fatima Alam ◽

Talib Hussain ◽

Saman Tauqir ◽

Saqib Ali ◽

Arqam Najmi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sampling Method ◽

Close Association ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Male Students ◽

Mental Wellbeing ◽

First Year ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Web Based

Background: Dental students in Pakistan suffer greatly from unusual distress and are unable to maintain happiness from the start of first year to final year. They are deprived from maintaining their mental wellbeing and happiness. There is lack of evidence Oxford happiness inventory (OHI) evaluation among the students. Aim: To detect the level of happiness in dental students from different professional years. Methods: A cross-sectional study in Bahria University Medical and Dental College was carried out. Dental students were enrolled from first year to final year using purposive sampling method. Results: This study included females 209, and 55 males. Majority of students (48.5%) belonged to 18-20 years age group followed by 21-22. About 50% students were from 1st year BDS, followed by 2nd year (28%). Question assessing happiness of students, 30.9% male students and 35.4% female’s students moderately agreed. Conclusion: The study concludes that overall dental students had an average level of happiness. It is necessary that all the dental educationists in any institution should work with close association to psychologists, there shall be different student services provided and student supporting groups shall be encouraged. Keywords: Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, happiness, well-being, students,

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The profile and risks of suicidal behaviours in the Nigerian Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291707000311 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 37 (6) ◽

pp. 821-830 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

OYE GUREJE ◽

LOLA KOLA ◽

RICHARD UWAKWE ◽

OWOIDOHO UDOFIA ◽

ABBA WAKIL ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Disorders ◽

Suicide Ideation ◽

Composite International Diagnostic Interview ◽

Well Being ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

World Health ◽

First Year ◽

Childhood Adversities ◽

History Of Childhood ◽

History Of

Background. Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide but information about it is sparse in Sub-Saharan Africa. Suicide-related behaviours can provide an insight into the extent of this compelling consequence of mental illness.Method. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a representative sample of persons aged 18 years and over (n=6752) in 21 of Nigeria's 36 states (representing about 57% of the national population). Suicide-related outcomes, mental disorders, as well as history of childhood adversities were assessed using the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).Results. Lifetime prevalence estimates of suicide ideation, plan and attempts were 3·2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·4–6·5], 1·0% (95% CI 0·4–7·5) and 0·7% (95% CI 0·5–1·0) respectively. Almost two of every three ideators who made a plan went on to make an attempt. The highest risks for transition from ideation to plan and from plan to attempt were in the first year of having ideation or plan respectively. Mental disorders, especially mood disorders, were significant correlates of suicide-related outcomes. Childhood adversities of long separation from biological parents, being raised in a household with much conflict, being physically abused, or being brought up by a woman who had suffered from depression, anxiety disorder, or who had attempted suicide were risk factors for lifetime suicide attempt.Conclusions. History of childhood adversities and of lifetime mental disorders identify persons at high-risk for suicide-related outcomes. Preventive measures are best delivered within the first year of suicide ideation being expressed.

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Swiss University Students’ Risk Perception and General Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17207433 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (20) ◽

pp. 7433 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Julia Dratva ◽

Annina Zysset ◽

Nadine Schlatter ◽

Agnes von Wyl ◽

Marion Huber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Participation Rate ◽

Well Being ◽

Daily Lives ◽

General Anxiety ◽

University Of Applied Sciences ◽

Class 1 ◽

Containment Measures ◽

Anxiety Levels ◽

Severe Anxiety

University students were confronted with abrupt changes to their daily lives by the COVID-19 lock-down. We investigated Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7) and anxiety levels, and the association between perceived impact on well-being, studies, and daily lives and anxiety levels, adjusted for gender, age, social class and affiliation. Early in the lock-down all students of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (N = 12,429) were invited to a voluntary longitudinal health survey. Participation rate was 20% (n = 2437): 70% females, median age 25 yrs. (IQR 23–28). A total of 10% reported a deterioration of well-being compared to pre-Corona. LCA yielded three classes varying in perceived COVID-19 impact: 1 (low, n = 675), 2 (moderate, n = 1098), and 3 (strong, n = 656). Adjusted proportion of moderate to severe anxiety by class were 45% (95% CI: 28.0–62.0), 15.5% (95% CI: 13.1–17.9), and 5.1% (95% CI: 4.7–5.6), respectively. Multivariate regression analyses yielded an OR for moderate to severe anxiety of 3.88 (95% CI: 2.5–6.0, class 2) and 22.43 (95% CI: 14.5–34.6, class 3) compared to class-1. The investigated association implies that containment measures have a selective effect on anxiety in students. The diversity of students’ perception and associated anxiety should be monitored and considered in future response to pandemics.

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Is COVID-19 Keeping us Up at Night? Stress, Anxiety, and Sleep Among Adult Twins

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2021.665777 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Siny Tsang ◽

Ally R. Avery ◽

Edmund Y. W. Seto ◽

Glen E. Duncan

Keyword(s):

Sleep Quality ◽

Well Being ◽

Unintended Consequences ◽

World Health ◽

Social Distancing ◽

The World ◽

Anxiety Levels ◽

Health Organization ◽

Adult Twins ◽

Sleep Amount

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of social distancing measures to mitigate the virus outbreak have been implemented. These measures may have unintended consequences on individuals’ well-being, such as increased stress, anxiety, and sleep disruptions. We investigated the extent to which individuals’ mental health status is associated with perceived changes in sleep amount and sleep quality among a sample of adult twin pairs (N = 909 pairs; 77% MZ, 23% DZ), less than a month after the outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. About half of participants reported no change in sleep amount (50.1%) or sleep quality (55.6%). Approximately one-third of the participants had increased amount of sleep (29.8%), and 32.9% reported a decrease in sleep quality. We found that stress and anxiety levels were associated with sleep reduction (ORs = 2.36 and 3.12 for stress and anxiety, respectively) and poorer sleep quality (ORs = 2.45 and 3.73 for stress and anxiety, respectively), even after taking into account between-family confounds. A much smaller association was observed between levels of stress and anxiety and increased sleep amount (ORs = 1.42 and 1.60 for stress and anxiety, respectively) and sleep quality (OR = 1.21 and 1.29 for stress and anxiety, respectively), which was no longer significant after controlling for between-family confounds. Our results demonstrate that stress and anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures may be linked to reduced sleep amount and quality.

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Perception and knowledge on the medicinal use of traditional drugs among dental undergraduates - A survey

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽

10.26452/ijrps.v11ispl4.3812 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (SPL4) ◽

pp. 336-343

Author(s):

Sushma P G ◽

Lakshmi T ◽

Kavitha S

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

World Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Safety Issues ◽

The Future ◽

Knowledge And Attitude ◽

Health Organization

The traditional drug, as characterized by the World Health Organization, is the aggregate of the information, aptitudes, and practices dependent on the hypotheses, convictions, and encounters indigenous to various societies, regardless of whether intelligible or not, utilized in the upkeep of well-being just as in the anticipation, analysis, improvement, or treatment of physical and psychological maladjustment. There is increasing usage of traditional drugs worldwide. To adequately manage safety issues associated with traditional drugs, the future dentists must possess good knowledge of them. Dental undergraduate students, totaling 100 students completed a questionnaire in a cross-sectional study that assessed their knowledge and attitude towards traditional drugs. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. The best known and used herb was chamomile and clove. Although with limited knowledge, the dental students showed a high level of personal use and good attitudes towards traditional drugs. Introduction of traditional drugs courses in their dental curriculum and also more awareness programs should increase their knowledge and attitude, so they could in the future adequately manage patients who used or intend to use traditional drugs.

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Increased levels of anxiety among medical and non-medical university students during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.

10.1101/2020.05.10.20096933 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Basema Saddik ◽

Amal Hussein ◽

Fatemeh Saheb Sharif-Askari ◽

Waad Kheder ◽

Mohamad-Hani Temsah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Online Learning ◽

Medical Students ◽

University Students ◽

Well Being ◽

Dental Students ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Anxiety Levels ◽

Hospital Visits ◽

Medical University

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to increase anxiety levels within the community and in particular medical students who are already considered psychologically vulnerable groups. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, no study has yet estimated the effect of this pandemic on university students in the UAE or its impact on the psychological well-being of medical students. Methods: In this study, we surveyed 1485 medical (comprising medical and dental) and non-medical university students across 4 emirates within the UAE. We used an online platform to assess knowledge, sources of information, changes in hygienic behavior, perceptions of fear and worry and anxiety levels using the generalized anxiety disorder 7 (GAD-7) scale. The GAD-7 score was measured at three time points; during hospital visits for medical/dental students, before the introduction of online learning and after online learning for all students. Results: The majority of students demonstrated high levels of knowledge and utilized reliable sources of information. Non-medical students exercised higher compliance with social restrictions, while medical students practiced better hand hygiene. Almost half of students reported anxiety levels ranging from mild to severe with females reporting higher anxiety scores during hospital visits (OR=2.02, 95% CI,1.41 to 2.91) and medical students reporting lower anxiety levels in comparison to dental students (OR=0.61, 95% CI,0.45 to 0.84). Medical students reported higher levels of anxiety during their clinical rotations which decreased with the introduction of online learning, yet, non-medical student's anxiety levels increased with online learning. Conclusions: This is the first study to provide important information on the initial response and anxiety levels in university students across the UAE during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings from our study can be used to support the development of effective screening strategies and interventions to build psychological resilience among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic or any other public health emergencies in the future.

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