Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate oral and general health-related quality of life (QoL) in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) disease.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 45 patients with FMF, 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC), and 50 patients with Behçet's disease (BD) as the disease control group were included. FMF disease activity was evaluated by using the FMF-severity score, as well as with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and serum C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels. Oral health-related QoL and general QoL were evaluated using oral health impact profile-14 (OHIP-14) and Medical Outcomes Short-Form Health Survey Questionnaire 36 (SF-36), respectively.
Results: Only the numbers of extracted teeth (4.13±4.72 vs. 1.55±3.6) and filled teeth (2.33±3.19 vs. 0.66±1.46) were significantly higher in FMF group compared to HC group (p=0.005 and p=0.013, respectively). OHIP-14 score was significantly higher in FMF and BD groups compared to HC group. In FMF patients, OHIP-14 score was positively correlated with the number of extracted teeth (r=0.38, p=0.010), while the number of carious teeth was positively correlated with ESR (r=0.43, p=0.003). When FMF patients were sub-classified according to disease severity, no significant difference was observed with respect to oral health status.
Conclusions: In patients with FMF, some of the parameters of oral health status were found to be worse compared to HC group. Tooth loss appears to be to be a critical factor contributing to impaired oral QoL. In general, oral health status in FMF patients is better than in BD patients.