Characteristics of Consultations by Foreign Exchange Students to the Infirmary at a Dental University : A Comparison with Japanese Students

<p> Abstract The reasons and background characteristics of students who consulted the infirmary of Osaka Dental University, Faculty of Dental Health in 2021, including 13 foreign exchange students and 78 Japanese students, were examined statistically. The male ratio of foreign exchange students was significantly higher than that of Japanese students for both the consulting group and the enrolling group, while age and BMI of both ethnic groups were not significantly different for either group. The prevalence of reasons for consulting among Japanese students was higher in order of mental disorder, orthostatic hypotension, dehydration and infectious disease, while that for foreign exchange students was infectious disease and trauma. As for the background characteristics, the prevalence of trauma was higher among Japanese males, while that of orthostatic hypotension was higher among Japanese females. On the other hand, the prevalence of trauma and infectious disease, which were frequent among foreign exchange students, did not show a significant difference between foreign males and females. The male/female ratio, prevalence of mental disorder and infectious disease were independently and significantly different between the two ethnic groups. That is to say, the prevalence of infectious disease among foreign exchange students was higher than that among Japanese students, and the prevalence of mental disorder among Japanese students was higher than that among foreign exchange students. The results are considered to be due to the lack of knowledge about infectious disease and hesitation to consult about mental disorders among foreign students. Both factors should be improved in the future.</p>