Assessment between stress, serum immunoglobulin a(IgA), gingival status and temporomandibular joint disorder amongst class 12th students: a prospective cohort study

Introduction: Examinations are the bane of students. Passing or failing usually has strong consequences for one’s career development, so examinations cause psychological stress for most of the students. Aim: To assess mental stress on Serum IgA, Gingival status and TMJ disorder among class 12th students before and during exam. Methodology: A prospective cohort study was conducted at private tutorial institute, Jaipur. The study population consisted of thirty subjects with age ranging from 16-18 years, who were divided into two groups;group A consisted of Science students and group B Commerce students. Venous blood samples were collected to assess Serum IgA level using immunoassay before and during exams. Clinical evaluation was undertaken using gingival index for assessing Gingival status and TMD prevalence was assessed by using Fonseca’s questionnaire before and during exams. Results: In both the groups Serum IgA levels increased during exam and it was more among Science students but results were not statistically significant (p≥0.05). Gingival inflammation and Mild & Moderate TMD was found to be more among Science students and results were statistically significant. With regards to gender, gingival inflammation was found to be more for males and TMD for females during exams. (p≤0.05) Conclusion: The parallel increase of Serum IgA level, gingival inflammation and TMD during exams in both the groups suggesting a possible relationship between stress and above three parameters.