title: The relationship between examination-related academic stress, salivary antioxidant capacity and exercise patterns of final-year Saudi dental students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the impact of examination stress on the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of senior dental students and compare changes in TAC between students who exercise regularly and those who do not.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire designed to evaluate physical activity levels, body mass index (BMI) and academic performance was distributed to 325 senior dental students. Of the 312 who responded, a total of 70 were enrolled in the study, of whom 60 completed the study. The students were composed of a low-activity group (n = 30), who had a Goddard-Sheppard (GS) exercise score of <25, and a high-exercise group (n = 30), who had a GS score >60. Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaires and salivary samples were collected at the first week of the semester and at the week of the examinations. Salivary TAC was measured using a commercially available Radical Absorbance Antioxidant Assay measurement kit (Zen-Bio ORAC™, AMS Biotechnology, Abington UK). A total of 60 students completed the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant increase in DES values and a significant reduction in salivary TAC values were observed in the week of the examination compared to baseline scores. Although no differences were observed in the DES scores between the high-exercise and low-exercise groups, the high-exercise group showed a significantly lower reduction in examination week salivary TAC compared to their counterparts in the low-exercise group. Regression models showed a significant association between the TAC, exercise scores and DES scores in the week of the examinations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Regular exercise may help protect students against the oxidative stress associated with academic stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Pharmacy and Allied Medical Sciences, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Al Khabbaz
authors.affiliation: Intern, College of Dentistry, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Bin Enayeg
authors.affiliation: Intern, College of Dentistry, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Bin Zouman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis*; D004497:Education, Dental; D004521:Educational Measurement; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants
keywords: academic stress; total antioxidant capacity; undergraduate dental education