AUTHOR=Ghadirian Hannaneh , Khami Mohammad Reza , Tabatabaei Seyyedeh Niloufar , mirhashemi Amir Hossein , Bahrami Rashin 

TITLE=COVID-19 vaccination and psychological status of Iranian dental students

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.946408

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.946408

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of COVID-19 vaccination and the quality and quantity of sleep, level of stress, and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) in Iranian dental students
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional research, we applied a questionnaire including 30 questions on Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), sleep quality and quantity, Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD), and vaccination status.. All vaccinated students of the dental schools located in the City of Tehran were invited to participate in the study. Participants were divided into three groups of vaccinated for less than a month, vaccinated for one-three months, and vaccinated for more than three months. Paired t-test served for statistical analysis.
Results: Overall, 171 out of 235 students (72.77%) completed the questionnaire, among which 90 individuals were fully vaccinated, and were included in the data analysis. Stress levels decreased (mean difference= -1.23, p.Value= 0.002) and sleep quality and quantity improved mostly one-three months after the vaccination (mean difference= -0.5, p.Value= 0.016). However, TMD symptoms were mostly alleviated in people vaccinated for more than three months (mean difference= -2.86, p.Value <0.05). In this respect, no significant difference was observed between the two genders. 
Conclusion: According to the results of the study, vaccination was associated with improvement of psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is recommended that further longitudinal studies be conducted on larger sample sizes and different age groups by using various data collection methods (especially regarding the assessment of TMD).