Oral Health-related Quality of Life in HIV: A Systematic Review

AIMTo systematically evaluate the literature evidence related to oral health and quality of life (QoL) among HIV-positive adults. BACKGROUNDThe oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is an essential entity to be measured for understanding the domains affected due to oral health problems. HIV comes with an array of complexities in the oral cavity and is also reflection of the systemic illness of the oral cavity. Hence, it is essential to know the area affected and also the lesions that contribute the most to decrease the QoL in this aspect. A systematic review was carried out in relation to studies across PubMed and Google Scholar regarding HIV and OHRQoL from January 1970 to May 2019. Of the 1,374 articles screened, 11 studies were filtered for the final review. REVIEW RESULTSThe physical domain followed by the psychological domain is the most affected in the HIV-positive patients. The maximum effect is due to dental caries and periodontitis. No studies report about oral substance abuse and its effect. CONCLUSIONStudies are further needed on a larger sample size and on similar scales and parameters to ensure greater evidence for intervention related to areas that should be focused upon for improving the QoL of HIV-positive patients. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCEThere is a greater need to include quality-based assessment while treating HIV-positive people. Also not just physical indicators like pain or dental caries, even social indicators like mental and social dimensions of a patient's life should be included while deciding the treatment approach.