Associations Among Sleep Disturbance, Vitality, Fatigue and Oral Health

Purpose: The objective of the present study was to explore the moderating effects of sleep disturbance, fatigue and vitality on self-reported oral-health status and oral-health related behaviours. Measurements and Results: The present study sample consisted of 213 first-year dental students at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy 'Carol Davila', Bucharest, Romania. The questionnaire included information about sociodemographic factors, behavioural variables and self-reported oral-health status. Subjective Vitality Scale, Fatigue Assessment Scale and Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire were used to assess quality of sleep, vitality and fatigue. The duration of sleep in 41.2% of students was < 7 h per night. It was revealed that 11.7% of the students experienced daily disturbed sleep, 20.4% had daily premature awakening and 50.5% presented frequent difficulties awakening. Significant differences were found among disturbed sleep, impaired awakening, vitality and fatigue scales according to several variables: perceived dental health, satisfaction by appearance of own teeth, self-reported gingival condition, mouth rinse frequency and reason for the dental visit, while multiple linear regression analyses revealed that vitality and impaired awakening were independent determinants of self-rated oral and gingival health status. Disturbed sleep index, impaired awakening, fatigue and vitality were positively associated with oral-health related behaviours. Conclusions: The authors concluded that the disturbed sleep index, impaired awakening, fatigue and vitality were associated with oral-health status and behaviour.