Anxiety in periodontally healthy, stage III/IV periodontitis with and without smoking: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Background: Psychological stress and smoking have been known as pertinent risk factors associated with various inflammatory diseases like periodontal disease. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate and correlate anxiety in Periodontally healthy, Stage III/IV Periodontitis patients with and without smoking.

Methods: 120 participants included in the study were divided equally into four groups of healthy non-smokers (Group I), healthy smokers (Group II), non-smokers with untreated Stage III or IV periodontitis (Group III) and smokers with untreated Stage III or IV periodontitis (Group IV). The anxiety levels of the patients were assessed using the Zung's self-rating anxiety scale. Socioeconomic status, smoking exposure through a questionnaire and the clinical parameters Probing pocket depth (PPD), Clinical attachment levels (CAL), Gingival index (GI) and Plaque index (PI) were recorded.

Results: The clinical periodontal parameters were compared within and across the groups at the four different anxiety levels and depicted a significant increase with the increase in the anxiety levels of the patients. The correlation of CAL with the anxiety score in Group III and Group IV was high positive (r = 0.926 and 0.823) and highly significant. (p-value < 0.0001 respectively). Also, a strong positive association was seen between duration, frequency of smoking and anxiety scores. (r = 0.824 and 0.853 respectively).

Conclusion: The anxiety scores showed a positive correlation with PPD and CAL in Group III and IV and it was high positive in smokers.

Clinical trial registry of india registration number: CTRI/2023/06/053408.