Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Nov;48(11):1458-1469.
doi: 10.1111/jcpe.13530. Epub 2021 Sep 6.

The association between halitosis and oral-health-related quality of life: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Luisa Schertel Cassiano  1 , Farhiya Abdullahi  1 , Fábio R M Leite  1 , Rodrigo López  1 , Marco A Peres  2   3 , Gustavo G Nascimento  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The association between halitosis and oral-health-related quality of life: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Luisa Schertel Cassiano et al. J Clin Periodontol. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Aim: To investigate whether halitosis is associated with impaired oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL).

Materials and methods: This is a systematic review of the literature. Electronic searches were performed in PubMed via Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and EMBASE up to and including June 2021. Observational studies that assessed halitosis in association with OHRQoL were included. The pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) was estimated by meta-analysis.

Results: Thirteen studies were included in the review; however, the meta-analysis included only 10 studies, all cross-sectional, comprising 2692 individuals. The overall meta-analysis showed an association between halitosis and impaired OHRQoL (SMD 0.51; 95% confidence interval 0.27-0.75). Subgroup analyses, however, indicated that this association remained only among adults. Neither the OHRQoL instrument nor the halitosis assessment method, or the cultural background, influenced the pooled estimates. Meta-regression analyses revealed that the OHRQoL instrument, the halitosis assessment method, and the sample composition did not explain the between-study heterogeneity. Methodological quality appeared to explain 20% of the overall heterogeneity, as studies with high risk of bias overestimated the magnitude of the association.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that halitosis is associated with impaired OHRQoL.

Keywords: bad breath; breath odour; life quality; periodontitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Agostinho, A. C., de Sousa, K. G., de Freitas, C. N., & Barbosa, T. D. (2019). Translation, transcultural adaptation and validation of the halitosis associated life-quality test for use in Brazilian adolescents. Pesquisa Brasileira em Odontopediatria e Clínica Integrada, 19(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.4034/pboci.2019.191.14
    1. Aizawa, F., Kishi, M., Moriya, T., Takahashi, M., Inaba, D., & Yonemitsu, M. (2005). The analysis of characteristics of elderly people with high VSC level. Oral Diseases, 11(Suppl 1), 80-82. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-0825.2005.01099.x
    1. Altman, D. G., Machin, D., Bryant, T. N., & Gardner, M. J. (2000). Statistics with confidence (2nd ed., pp. 28-31). BMJ Books.
    1. Appukuttan, D. P., Tadepalli, A., Victor, D. J., & Dharuman, S. (2016). Oral health related quality of life among Tamil speaking adults attending a dental institution in Chennai, southern India. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 10(10), Zc114-zc120. https://doi.org/10.7860/jcdr/2016/20099.8693
    1. Bornstein, M. M., Kislig, K., Hoti, B. B., Seemann, R., & Lussi, A. (2009). Prevalence of halitosis in the population of the city of Bern, Switzerland: A study comparing self-reported and clinical data. European Journal of Oral Sciences, 117(3), 261-267. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0722.2009.00630.x

Publication types