Frequency of Addictive Habits and its Association with Oral Diseases Among a Cross Section of Indian Police Personnel Connotation.

OBJECTIVE To assess the frequency of adverse addictive habits, specially alcohol and tobacco usage, among police personnel of Bhopal City, Central India and its association with the frequency of oral mucosal lesions and periodontal diseases. STUDY DESIGN Across-sectional analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Bhopal City, Capital of Madhya Pradesh State, Central India, from February to April 2013. METHODOLOGY All the police personnel posted at various police stations were interviewed and clinically examined. Police personnel who did not cooperate or were not willing, were excluded from the study. Chi-square test was used to analyze categorical variables. RESULTS Atotal of 781 subjects were interviewed for the various forms of adverse habits, followed by clinical assessment of oral mucosal lesions and periodontal status using WHO 1997 criteria. The mean age of study subjects was 40.58 ±9.84 years. Usage of tobacco was found among 55% and only 1.3% of subjects consumed alcohol. The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions and periodontal diseases was significantly higher among tobacco users. CONCLUSION There was high usage of tobacco among police personnel in Bhopal City, India with a detrimental effect on oral health.