Oral health-related quality of life and associated factors in patients with xerostomia

Objective This study aimed to investigate clinical and demographic factors associated with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients with xerostomia. Methods Forty-one patients (55.2 +/- 13.8 years) with xerostomia as a chief complaint participated in the study. Comprehensive information about clinical and demographic characteristics of the patients with xerostomia, xerostomia-related symptoms and behaviours, and xerostomia-associated complaints was investigated using a xerostomia questionnaire. Flow rates of unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva were measured. The Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) score was used to assess the OHRQoL of patients. The relationships between various factors and the OHIP-14 score were assessed by simple and multiple linear regression analyses. Results The OHIP-14 score of patients with xerostomia was high (44.3 +/- 13.2). Characteristics of the patients with xerostomia associated with high OHIP-14 score were the intensity of xerostomia-related symptoms, frequency of xerostomia-related behaviours and the presence of speaking difficulty. Results from multiple linear regressions found that self-reported amount of saliva in usual, everyday life (beta = 0.622, p = 0.012) and the presence of a speaking difficulty (beta = 0.348, p = 0.014) had significant adversely affected the OHRQoL in patients with xerostomia. Conclusions Subjective perceptions of the amount of saliva in the mouth and the experience of speaking difficulty affected the OHRQoL in patients with xerostomia.