Electronic Physician (ISSN: 2008-5842) http://www.ephysician.ir
November 2017, Volume: 9, Issue: 11, Pages: 5814-5819, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.19082/5814
Corresponding author:
Assistant Professor Dr. Maedeh Salehi, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Mazandaran University
of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. Tel: +98.1133244894, Email: salehimaedeh1165@gmail.com
Received: May 03, 2017, Accepted: September 24, 2017, Published: November 2017
iThenticate screening: September 18, 2017, English editing: October 14, 2017, Quality control: November 15, 2017
This article has been reviewed / commented by three experts
© 2017 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is
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Page 5814
The effect of xerostomia and hyposalivation on the quality of life of patients with type II diabetes mellitus
Tahereh Molania
1
, Mona Alimohammadi
2
, Ozra Akha
3
, Jaber Mousavi
4
, Ramin Razvini
5
, Maedeh Salehi
1
1
DDS, MS of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of
Dentistry, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
2
DDS, MS of Oral and Maxilofacial Radiology, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxilofacial
Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
3
MD, Endocrinologist, Associate Professor, Diabetes Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sceinse,
Sari, Iran
4
MD, MPH, Board of Community & Preventive Medicine, Assistant Professor, Department of Community &
Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
5
DDS, Sari, Mazandaran, Iran
Type of article: Original
Abstract
Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease which can have numerous physical effects for
patient. Xerostomia is one of these complications. Compared to healthy people, patients with diabetes mellitus,
have a worse quality of life, and complications of diabetes are the main determinants of quality of life in these
patients.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of xerostomia and hyposalivation on quality of life
of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical epidemiological study was conducted on 200 patients with type 2 diabetes
mellitus referred to the diabetes clinic of Shahid Mostafavi in Sari city from October 2015 to January in 2016. A
questionnaire containing personal characteristics and medical situation was completed by each person. Then, the
Persian Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14-PER) questionnaire was completed by the patients. Eventually,
with the use of chewable paraffin for 1.5 min by the patient, stimulated salivary flow rate (SSFR) test was
performed, and in order to determine hyposalivation, their saliva amount underwent a gravimetric test. Finally,
using statistical software SPSS16, the information was statistically analyzed by independent-samples t-test,
Mann-Whitney U, Chi-squared and fisher exact tests.
Results: The average age of patient was 56.41 years old (43% male and 57% female). Mean SSFR was 0.7
ml/min in patients and xerostomia were confirmed in 112 patients. Difference between age, gender, drug use,
years affecting to diabetes and FBS amount in patient with hyposalivation were not statistically meaningful in
proportion to patients without it. But difference between HbA1C and SSFR in patients with hyposalivation were
statistically meaningful than to patients without it (p=0.03, p=0.001 respectively). The mean patient score to
OHIP-14 were obtained as 38.17. The questionnaire score difference in patients with hyposalivation in proportion
to patients without it were not statistically meaningful.
Conclusion: Hyposalivation possibility increases in diabetic patients with low metabolic control which can cause
more severe side effects in relation to oral health. Xerostomia in diabetic patients has negative effects on oral
health related quality of life. Diabetic control and patients’ oral problem improvement is effective in their quality
of life promotion.
Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Xerostomia, Saliva