Oral Health-Related Quality of Life After Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant—A Cross-Sectional Study

TL;DR

This study shows that patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease experience significantly worse oral health and quality of life due to reduced saliva and higher caries risk.

Contribution

The study links clinical oral health indicators with quality of life in cGVHD patients, emphasizing the need for integrated care strategies.

Findings

Patients with cGVHD had significantly lower oral health-related quality of life compared to healthy individuals.

Stimulated salivary flow rate and pH were significantly reduced in cGVHD patients.

Caries risk was elevated due to reduced saliva and higher levels of harmful bacteria.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral health-related quality of life of patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease. Methods: A total of 22 patients with graft-versus-host disease aged 45.05 ± 14.66 years were enrolled in a single-centre cross-sectional study. Data from questionnaires on general health and diet, clinical examinations, and salivary tests were used to assess caries risks using the Cariogram computer programme. The Slovenian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile Questionnaire (OHIP-SVN) was used to determine the oral health-related quality of life. Results: Compared to healthy individuals, patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease had a lower oral health-related quality of life and a lower stimulated salivary flow rate (in both cases p < 0.001). The OHIP summary score correlated with stimulated salivary pH (R = 0.4916, p = 0.0277) and caries risk (R = 0.5420, p = 0.0111). Conclusions: In conclusion, our results confirm that cGVHD has a negative impact on oral health-related quality of life due to lower stimulated salivary pH and elevated caries risk (reduced salivary pH, flow rate, buffering capacity, and elevated Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus bacteria count). These findings emphasise the importance of a comprehensive assessment of oral health and preventive care in patients with cGVHD and suggest that the integration of clinical and quality of life measures could lead to improved patient care strategies.

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