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Volume 8 Issue 9 (September, 2020)

Original Articles

Evaluating the Quality of Life in Patients with Oral Submucous Fibrosis and Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis- A Questionnaire Based Pilot Study
Pooja Naik, Gautam Rao, Shruthi M, Kiran Raj H, Karunakar Naik

Background: Oral sub mucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a precancerous condition characterized by juxta-epithelial inflammatory reaction and progressive fibrosis of the submucosal tissue affecting the oral cavity, oropharynx and sometimes the upper third of the oesophagus. Blisters, ulcerations, and recurrent stomatitis are seen as early symptoms of OSMF. The classic clinical presentation of OSMF and RAS includes, limited mouth opening and tongue protrusion along with difficulties in swallowing, eating and speaking. Objective: To evaluate the quality of life using OHIP-14 in OSMF and RAS patients. Methodology: The demographic data were collected for all consecutive patients with a diagnosis of Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) and RAS during study duration of six months. The quality of life in the study patients were measured using OHIP-14. OHIP-14 is an oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) questionnaire that is assessed on a 5-point Likert scale. Results: In OSMF group 30 (75%) patients were above 26 years, 10 (25%) patients were below 25 years of age. In RAS group 23 (57.5%) patients were below 25 years of age and 17 (42.5%) patients were above 26 years. There was a significant positive correlation between handicap and all the other subscales of OHIP-14 profile (Handicap vs Functional disability, R= 0.6260; Physical pain, R= 0.6348; Psychological discomfort, R= 0.6837. Physical disability, R= 0.5620; Psychological disability, R= 0.7866; social disability, R=0.695, all P value < 0.05). In RAS, significant positive correlation seen between handicap and functional limitation, psychological disability and physical pain (handicap vs functional limitation, R=0.3162, psychological disability, R=0.3820, psychological pain, R=0.3372). Conclusion: To conclude the results of our study demonstrated reduced OHRQoL in patients with OSMF and RAS predominantly because of physical pain and psychological discomfort. Further studies with larger sample size evaluating the association of QOL with disease stages and different therapies are warranted. Keywords: OSMF, RAS, Quality of Life

 
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