Assessment of oral health-related quality of life and oral side effects of radioactive iodine therapy.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of oral health problems on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among female patients received Radioactive iodine (¹³¹I) therapy.

Materials and methods: This unmatched case-control study was conducted on 40 female patients (20 cancer free controls and 20 patients treated with ¹³¹I therapy). Data were collected via clinical examination, self reported questionnaire including the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14), salivary tests, socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics. Data were analyzed using descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistics.

Results: There were significant differences in the total number of decayed, missing and filled surfaces, stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rates, and periodontal indices between the study and control groups in the unadjusted analysis. Age adjusted analysis revealed significant differences in the stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rates, periodontal indices, physical pain domain scores between groups. No significant differences were observed between groups in the xerostomia severity and OHRQoL. In study group, the score for the OHIP-14 psychological discomfort domain was negatively correlated with both stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rates. The total OHIP-14 score and its domain scores of physical pain and psychological disability were correlated positively with the severity of xerostomia, but negatively correlated with number of the repeated ¹³¹I therapy.

Conclusions: Due to xerostomia, patients reported worse OHRQoL in the domains of physical pain, psychological discomfort and disability. They had worse periodontal status and tooth brushing habits than healthy controls.

Clinical relevance: The findings of this study may provide a valuable insight on the oral health problems and needs of target group when planning a a team-based care.