{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T18:08:30Z","timestamp":1789495710974,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789430400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of Scientific and Technological Funds for Youth of Gansu","award":["22JR5RA018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22JR5RA018"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n Oral diseases represent an important reason for consultation among personnel attending the Chinese level-II hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). By analyzing the trends in the spectrum of oral diseases, we aim to improve precision support in oral healthcare for peacekeepers.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Materials and methods<\/jats:title>\n \n Clinical data from outpatient visits during Batches 23, 25, and 26 at the hospital were collected. A total of 565 oral outpatient visits (205 in Batch 23, 154 in Batch 25, and 206 in Batch 26) were analyzed. Oral diseases were classified using ICD-11 into five categories, and their proportions and trends were compared using chi\u2011square tests and Cochran\n \n \n \n \n \n \u2212<\/mml:mo>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:math>\n <\/jats:alternatives>\n <\/jats:inline-formula>\n Armitage trend tests with Bonferroni correction.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Oral outpatient visits accounted for the largest proportion of specialized outpatient consultations across all three batches, accounting for 22.19% (Batch 23), 21.21% (Batch 25), and 25.40% (Batch 26) of all outpatient visits. The proportion of diseases of hard tissues of teeth increased from 29.27% (Batch 23) to 49.03% (Batch 26) (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n for trend\u2009<\u20090.001), and was significantly higher in Batch 26 than in Batches 23 and 25 (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009<\u20090.001), with caries being the most common. Caries proportion rose from 11.71% (Batch 23) to 30.10% (Batch 26) (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n for trend\u2009<\u20090.001). Among diseases of pulp or periapical tissues, pulpitis was the most prevalent; its proportion peaked in Batch 25 (33.12%) and then significantly decreased in Batch 26 (20.87%,\n P<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.009). Periodontal disease declined from 15.12% (Batch 23) to 6.80% (Batch 26) (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n for trend\u2009=\u20090.008), with Batch 26 significantly lower than Batch 23.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n This study provides preliminary insights for oral medical support in peacekeeping missions with similar settings, ensuring effective oral health protection for peacekeepers.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0358265","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T17:45:53Z","timestamp":1789494353000},"page":"e0358265","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Analysis of trends in the spectrum of oral diseases at the Chinese level\u2011II hospital for peacekeeping: A case study from the Democratic Republic of the Congo"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Yifan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The 940th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army","place":["Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juanqin","family":"Niu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The 940th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army","place":["Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The 940th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army","place":["Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dong","family":"Qin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The 940th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army","place":["Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiangjie","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"General Hospital of Western Theater Command","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The 940th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army","place":["Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zipeng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Western Theater Command","place":["Lanzhou, Gansu Province, 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