Study of Mental Status and Quality of Life in People with Recurrent Aphthous Lesions in 2019

Abstract

Introduction: Recurrent aphthous ulcers are one of the most common diseases of oral mucosa, which causes complaints and referral of patients to the dentist. These ulcers are single or multiple and painful, limited to the oral cavity and often cause a lot of discomfort to the patient. The aim of this study was to evaluation of mental status and quality of life in people with recurrent aphthous lesions. Materials and Methods: In this cohort study, 120 persons were evaluated in two groups: patients and healthy subjects in terms of mental status and quality of life. Patients in the case group were who diagnosed with a dental specialist at the faculty of dentistry with recurrent aphthous lesions that occur at least 3 times a year. The GHQ-28 questionnaire was used to assess the mental status and general health quality and the WHOQOL-26 questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life. Results: Most patients with recurrent aphthous ulcers had a moderate (32.50%) status of GHQ. It was also observed in 7 patients that the mental health status was severe. The highest scores of mental health quality were related to anxiety and sleep disorders, which was significantly higher in cases than the control group (15.78 ± 3.13 vs. 4.25 ± 2.51; p = 0.001). Most of the aphthous lesions in the present study were low-grade minor lesions (43.3%), however, moderate lesions have the second highest frequency (38.3%). Also, studies have shown that with an increase in the rate of severity of aphthous lesions, general health quality and psychiatric status also worsens, so that in 4 patients with severe aphthous lesions (11 patients), 4 patients had severe GHQ status. Conclusion: Most patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis have a variety of physical and psychological disorders, especially anxiety and sleep disorders. The results of this study suggest that physicians involved in the treatment of recurrent aphthous ulcers should be aware that in the treatment of this disease, it is necessary to address the mental disorders as one of the underlying and etiologic factors of the incidence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis; this way will affect the incidence of aphthous lesions, recurrence and healing time.