title: The impact of burning mouth syndrome on health-related quality of life.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Burning mouth syndrome is a chronic disorder that is characterized by a burning sensation and a normal clinical appearance of the oral mucosa. This condition often affects the health-related quality of life in patients. As such, the aim of this study was to compare the health-related quality of life of patients with BMS and healthy controls, using the validated Portuguese versions of the SF-36 and OHIP-49 questionnaires.
  
  
  METHODS
  A calculated sample of Brazilian patients with BMS (n = 26) was compared with a control group (n = 27), paired for gender and age. Sociodemographic information and clinical characteristics were obtained, and interviews were conducted using the SF-36 and OHIP-49. To evaluate the normality of the variables, we used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The chi-square test, Fisher exact test and Mann-Whitney U-Test were used to compare sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of individuals with BMS and controls Mann-Whitney U-test were carried out to compare SF-36 and OHIP-49 between BMS patients and controls. The significance level was set at 0.05. To compare the dimensions of the SF-36 and OHIP-49 between BMS patients and controls, we considered Bonferroni correction. So for comparison of the dimensions, the significance level was set at 0.00625 for SF-36 and at 0.00714 for OHIP-49.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The clinical and demographic data were similar in both groups (P > 0.05). SF-36 scores were significantly lower in all domains for patients with BMS (P < 0.00625). OHIP-49 scores were higher for individuals with BMS (P < 0.00714).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BMS has a negative impact on the health-related quality of life of individuals, as can be shown by instruments such as the SF-36 and OHIP-49. So, the evaluation of quality of life might be useful for more information about the nature and severity of BMS, to evaluate the effects of treatment protocols, in order to improve their outcomes by means a humanized clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery and Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabrício T A
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Tálita P M
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Vanessa F
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Bernardes
authors.forename: Antônio L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Arthur M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kümmer
authors.forename: Tarcília A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Mauro H N G
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Abreu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D002054:Burning Mouth Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric