Association of problematic Internet use and oral health-related quality of life among medical and dental students

• Published in: BMC medical education 2022-01, Vol.22 (1), p.11-11, Article 11
• Main Authors: Ghareghol, Halimeh, Pakkhesal, Mina, Naghavialhosseini, Aliakbar, Ahmadinia, Amir Reza, Behnampour, Nasser
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addictions; Adolescents; Behavior, Addictive - epidemiology; College students; Colleges & universities; Computer Use; Confidence intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demographic aspects; Dental schools; Dental student; Dental students; Eating behavior; Health aspects; Humans; Internet; Internet access; Internet Use; Lifelong Learning; Medical education; Medical students; Normal distribution; Oral health; Oral hygiene; Psychological aspects; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Science Curriculum; Students, Dental; Surveys and Questionnaires; University students
• ISSN: 1472-6920; 1472-6920
• DOI: 10.1186/s12909-021-03092-x

The Internet as a communication tool is an essential component of daily life. Nowadays, problematic Internet use (PIU) has led to various psychosocial problems that can indirectly lead to oral diseases due to neglect of healthy behaviors. Also, college students are a large proportion of Internet users. The present study aimed to determine the association between problematic Internet use and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among medical and dental students. A cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on medical and dental students in the first and second years of education (basic sciences courses) at the Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, between January and July 2020. The data collection process was carried out in the following sequence: questionnaire on demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, academic field, and year); Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ); and Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Among 268 medical and dental students, 171 students (63.81%) [95% confidence interval: 58.02%- 69.60%] had problematic Internet use. The mean PIU score in the first-year was significantly higher than the second-year students. In addition, 65% of single students and 25% of married subjects were dealing with PIU. The statistical difference between mean OHIP scores among PIU students (12.5 ± 2.9), with average Internet usage (7.39 ± 6.6), was significant. The Spearman correlation coefficient between PIU and OHIP was 0.309 and significant (P-value