Evaluation of changes in oral health-related quality of life over time in patients with Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: To assess oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and changes in OHRQoL in three years of patients with Sjögren's symdrome (SS). Methods: Thirty-five SS patients and 23 non-SS individuals were enrolled. OHRQoL were quantitatively evaluated using the shortened Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). After three years, 22 patients and 14 controls tool the OHIP-14 survey again. Results: The SS group had a significantly higher OHIP-14 score, which indicated a lower OHRQoL, than the non-SS group. Among individual questions in the OHIP-14, scores for "trouble pronouncing words", "uncomfortable to eat foods", "self-conscious", and "diet unsatisfactory" were markedly higher in the SS group than in the non-SS group. The OHIP-14 score significantly increased in three years in the SS group. Furthermore, there was an inverse correlation between the change rate of salivary flow rate and change of OHIP-14 scores in three years in patients with SS whose OHIP-14 score increased. Scores for "irritable with other people", "difficulty doing usual jobs", "felt life less satisfying", and "unable to function" significantly increased in three years. Conclusions: In SS, OHRQoL decreased in three years, which was associated with a decrease in saliva secretion. Moreover, troubles related to psychosocial aspects in SS patients were found to intensify over time.