Oral Health Related Quality of Life, Cognitive Ability, Nutritional Status Among Construction Workers- A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: Oral health defects significantly affect the individual's general health and ability to carry out everyday activities. People like farm workers, construction workers, and migratory workers do not have access to dental care, significantly influencing their overall quality of life. People with ongoing dental pain have nutritional deficiency consequences. Materials and Method: A questionnaire-based study was conducted among 420 construction workers in Chennai. Individuals who expressed a willingness to participate were enrolled in the study. The oral health-related quality of life was evaluated using the Oral Health Impact Profile -14 scale. The cognitive ability of the individuals was assessed using the Symptoms of Early Dementia 11 questionnaire, and the nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment. The results were tabulated and statistically analyzed using SPSS software. Results: A statistically significant association was found between Oral health-related quality of life (p = 0.02), cognitive ability (p - value = 0.04), and nutritional status of construction workers (p - value = 0.01). A strong positive correlation was found between the variables such as oral health-related quality of life and nutritional status. Conclusion: From this study, we can conclude that the oral health-related quality of life, cognitive ability, and nutritional status of the construction workers in Chennai is overall low, and importance to be given on their oral health and also general health since low nutritional status can affect their general health too.