Psychological distress and emotional pain among adult attendees of a dental clinic: a case-control study. Issue 1 (18th May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Erinfolami, Adebayo Rasheed; Olagunju, Andrew Toyin; Oshodi, Yewande Olufunmilayo; Akinbode, Abiola Adelphine; Fadipe, Babatunde; Adeyemo, Wasiu Lanre
• Is Part Of: Mental illness. Volume 8:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 4
• Publication Date: 2016-05-18
• Subjects: Africans -- dental patients -- emotional pain -- psychological distress; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Mental illness -- Diagnosis -- Periodicals; Mental illness -- Periodicals; Mental health -- Periodicals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1108/mi.2016.6006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2036-7465

Abstract

Abstract : We set out to carry out a case-control evaluation of psychological distress and emotional pain among adult attendees of a Nigerian dental clinic. A total of 201 subjects, made up of 101 dental patients (test group) matched with age and sex with 100 normal subjects (controls), was recruited into the study. All participants completed a designed socio-demographic questionnaire. General Health Question naire and Psyche ache Assessment Schedule were also administered to assess psychological distress based on cut-off scores ?3 and emotional pain based on cut-off scores ?28 respectively. The mean ages of study and control group were 33 (±12) and 36 (±13) years respectively, and both study and control groups were not significantly different in all the assessed socio-demographic parameters. Overall, 21.8% (n=22) of the subjects had psychological distress, while only 7% of the control group had psychological distress. This difference was statistically significant (P=0.003). Similarly, there was significant difference in the experience of psyche ache (unbearable psychological pain) as over a third of the dental patients (37.6%, n=38) had emotional pain, while only 13% of the controls experienced psych ache (P<0.001). In this study, the burden of psychological distress and emotional pain was many-fold in dental patients when compared with the controls.