Behavioural influences on oral health status among individuals with schizophrenia: a cross-sectional study.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Public Health Dentistry, SRM Kattankulathur Dental College and Hospital, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India.
- 2Department of Public Health Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, SRM Kattankulathur Dental College and Hospital, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chengalpattu district, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India. [email protected].
- 3Department of Public Health Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, SRM Kattankulathur Dental College and Hospital, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chengalpattu district, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India.
- 4Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, SRM Medical College and Hospital & Research Center, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chengalpattu district, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India.
- 5Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, SRM Kattankulathur Dental College and Hospital, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chengalpattu district, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India.
- 6Centre for Statistics, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chengalpattu district, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India.
Abstract
Background
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the behavioural assessment using the schizophrenia oral health profile (SOHP) scale and examine the oral health status using Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S), Decayed, Missing and Filled teeth (DMFT), Community Periodontal Index (CPI) and Loss of attachment (LOA) indices, and correlate the behaviour with oral health and determine an association between behavioural assessment and oral health status.Methods
This hospital-based cross-sectional study included 74 patients with schizophrenia (SCZ), comprising both inpatients and outpatients receiving treatment at the Department of Psychiatry in a randomly selected hospital in Tamil Nadu, India. Participants were selected using a simple random sampling method through the lottery technique for data collection. Demographic data were collected using a structured form. The Schizophrenia-Oral Health Profile (SOHP) questionnaire was administered to all participants to determine their self-perceived oral health status. The participants' dental (OHI-S, DMFT, CPI, LOA) status was subsequently analysed in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, using the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests.Results
Among the 74 participants, the majority demonstrated fair oral hygiene habits (83.8%). The experience of dental caries was low to moderate overall, while periodontal disease showed a high prevalence of calculus and periodontal pockets. In this regard, a significant number of patients had a probing depth of ≥ 4 mm and attachment loss of ≥ 4 mm. No significant gender differences were observed in the oral health indices or SOHP scores (p > 0.05). However, significant differences were found across age groups for the OHI-S, DMFT, CPI, LOA, and SOHP scores (p < 0.05). SOHP scores showed a significant positive correlation with DMFT (r = 0.326, p = 0.005) and LOA (r = 0.411, p < 0.001), and a negative correlation with CPI (r = - 0.465, p < 0.001).Conclusion
Individuals with schizophrenia exhibited a considerable burden of dental caries and periodontal disease, with behavioural determinants significantly associated with oral health outcomes. These findings highlight incorporating routine oral health screening and validated behavioural tools such as SOHP into psychiatric care protocols to enable earlier identification of high-risk patients and timely dental referral.
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BibTeX
@article{kesavan2026behavioural,
title = {{Behavioural influences on oral health status among individuals with schizophrenia: a cross-sectional study.}},
author = {Harsika Kesavan and Sibyl Siluvai and Indumathi K P and Krishnaprakash G and Arul Saravanan Ramachandran and A V Saravanan and Raghul Gandhi Venkatesan},
journal = {BMC oral health},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12903-026-09435-8},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42902231},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Behavioural influences on oral health status among individuals with schizophrenia: a cross-sectional study.
AU - Harsika Kesavan
AU - Sibyl Siluvai
AU - Indumathi K P
AU - Krishnaprakash G
AU - Arul Saravanan Ramachandran
AU - A V Saravanan
AU - Raghul Gandhi Venkatesan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - BMC oral health
DO - 10.1186/s12903-026-09435-8
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42902231
AB - Background The purpose of the study was to evaluate the behavioural assessment using the schizophrenia oral health profile (SOHP) scale and examine the oral health status using Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S), Decayed, Missing and Filled teeth (DMFT), Community Periodontal Index (CPI) and Loss of attachment (LOA) indices, and correlate the behaviour with oral health and determine an association between behavioural assessment and oral health status.Methods This hospital-based cross-sectional study included 74 patients with schizophrenia (SCZ), comprising both inpatients and outpatients receiving treatment at the Department of Psychiatry in a randomly selected hospital in Tamil Nadu, India. Participants were selected using a simple random sampling method through the lottery technique for data collection. Demographic data were collected using a structured form. The Schizophrenia-Oral Health Profile (SOHP) questionnaire was administered to all participants to determine their self-perceived oral health status. The participants' dental (OHI-S, DMFT, CPI, LOA) status was subsequently analysed in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, using the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests.Results Among the 74 participants, the majority demonstrated fair oral hygiene habits (83.8%). The experience of dental caries was low to moderate overall, while periodontal disease showed a high prevalence of calculus and periodontal pockets. In this regard, a significant number of patients had a probing depth of ≥ 4 mm and attachment loss of ≥ 4 mm. No significant gender differences were observed in the oral health indices or SOHP scores (p > 0.05). However, significant differences were found across age groups for the OHI-S, DMFT, CPI, LOA, and SOHP scores (p < 0.05). SOHP scores showed a significant positive correlation with DMFT (r = 0.326, p = 0.005) and LOA (r = 0.411, p < 0.001), and a negative correlation with CPI (r = - 0.465, p < 0.001).Conclusion Individuals with schizophrenia exhibited a considerable burden of dental caries and periodontal disease, with behavioural determinants significantly associated with oral health outcomes. These findings highlight incorporating routine oral health screening and validated behavioural tools such as SOHP into psychiatric care protocols to enable earlier identification of high-risk patients and timely dental referral.
SN - 1472-6831
ER -