Oral health-related quality of life in patients with type II diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundOur study aimed to comprehensively assess the impact of type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) based on results from the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. A secondary objective was to explore how the potential correlation between the OHIP-14 score and T2DM was affected by demographic and clinical characteristics.MethodsWe systematically searched the Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus databases on January 24, 2024, for evidence starting from database inception. Studies included in the analysis assessed OHRQoL in T2DM patients. We searched trials both with or without comparisons to healthy controls and presenting OHIP-14 results as a severity of impact, namely, the mean OHIP-14 total score. To assess the difference between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects, we calculated weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). A meta-analysis of each summary measure was conducted provided that this outcome was evaluated in at least two studies so that model was selected on the basis of heterogeneity assessment. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the tool developed by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).ResultsSeven studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria (1,457 patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and 216 healthy controls). In patients with T2DM, the mean OHIP-14 total score was approximately 2.7 points higher (an indication of greater oral problems) than in healthy persons; WMD = 2.68 (95% CI: 0.47-4.89); p = 0.0176. Significant differences between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects were also observed for almost all domains of the OHIP-14, except handicap. The calculated average OHIP-14 total score was 12.06 (95% CI: 4.93-19.19), which indicated a slight effect on OHRQoL. Age and sex did not appear to be relevant for assessing the impact of diabetes mellitus on OHRQoL.ConclusionsOur findings confirm that OHRQoL in patients with T2DM is significantly lower and may be influenced by functional problems in addition to various physical and psychological limitations. However, the available data are of low quality and a lack of evidence from high-quality studies with matched control groups exists.Clinical trial numberNot applicable.