The School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Bristol Dental School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Gerodontology. 2020 Jun;37(2):132-142. doi: 10.1111/ger.12433. Epub 2019 Jul 26.
To explore the impacts of dry mouth in order to develop a comprehensive condition-specific OHRQoL measure.
Dry mouth has been shown to have significant, if not more severe impacts on OHRQoL, than dental caries. Yet there remain few studies reporting on how to develop a comprehensive measure of the impact of dry mouth on OHRQoL.
This study was a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 17 people with dry mouth (14 women, three men). The sample was drawn to capture a comprehensive range of impacts of dry mouth. These interviews were analysed using a framework approach informed by existing functionalist approaches to OHRQoL.
Participants reported a huge range of symptoms associated with perceived dry mouth resulting in extensive impacts on physical, emotional (psychological) and social functioning. Dry mouth could also result in restrictions in social participation which, under some conditions, could be disabling. These impacts were modified by psychological, social and environmental factors.
If we are to measure the impacts of oral conditions, it is important that this is done systematically and with reference to existing conceptual models of health. Current measures of the impact of dry mouth cover symptoms, discomfort and physical impacts along with some aspects of how people cope with the condition. This study proposes a more comprehensive approach that includes the full range of impacts people experience. Such an approach may enable us to focus on "downstream" and "upstream" interventions for dry mouth.
探讨口干对口腔健康相关生活质量（OHRQoL）的影响，以开发一种全面的特定于口干状况的 OHRQoL 测量工具。
口干对 OHRQoL 的影响已被证明与龋齿相当甚至更为严重，但目前仍鲜有研究报告如何开发一种全面衡量口干对 OHRQoL 影响的测量工具。
本研究采用半结构式访谈进行定性研究。数据来自 17 名口干症患者（14 名女性，3 名男性）的目的抽样。该样本旨在全面捕捉口干对患者的各种影响。采用基于现有 OHRQoL 功能主义方法的框架方法对这些访谈进行分析。
参与者报告了与感知口干相关的一系列广泛症状，这些症状对身体、情感（心理）和社会功能产生了广泛影响。口干还可能导致社交参与受限，在某些情况下可能会导致残疾。这些影响受到心理、社会和环境因素的影响。
如果我们要衡量口腔状况的影响，就必须系统地进行，并参考现有的健康概念模型。目前衡量口干影响的工具涵盖了症状、不适和身体影响，以及人们应对该状况的某些方面。本研究提出了一种更全面的方法，包括人们所经历的所有影响。这种方法可能使我们能够专注于口干的“下游”和“上游”干预措施。
