Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis Affects Quality of Life. A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Aim: To determine the impact of recurrent aphthous stomatitis on quality of life related to oral health, and then to determine the relationship between the observed impact and lesions characteristics.

Methods: In this prospective case-control study (n=62), patients were divided into a healthy group (people with no history of ulcers) and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (people who had an active ulcer at study entry). The latter were also evaluated when the lesion disappeared (remission stage). We record the quality of life in all groups using the impact profile of oral health in its abbreviated Spanish version (OHIP-14SP). Finally, we correlate the clinical characteristics of the lesions with the levels of quality of life.

Results: All the lesions were of the minor morphological type. Most of the lesions were located on the lining mucosa, primarily on the lips. Patients report a lower quality of life during ulcer episodes compared to ulcer-free periods, and this impact is positively related to the number and size of lesions.

Conclusion: We concluded that recurrent aphthous stomatitis increased the negative effects of oral health on the quality of life of patients. The number and size of ulcers are responsible for this impact. Our results suggest that, if intervened locally, general relief of the condition could be achieved.

Keywords: aphthous ulcers; case-control studies; health-related quality of life; quality of life.

Figure 1

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis affects quality of life. Total OHIP-14Sp score. On the box-and-whisker plot, the boxes represent quartile 1, median, and quartile 3. The x stands for the mean. The whiskers extend to the maximum and minimum values. Data outside of these limits represents outliers. The different letters indicate a statistically significant difference (p-value <0.05, one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc contrasts).