title: Women with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome experience low oral health-related quality of life.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the perceived impact of oral health-related quality of life problems in individuals with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Members of the Swedish Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Association completed the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). Of the 250 participating individuals, 223 were women, and they were the main focus of the analyses. The results were compared with a previous study of the oral health impact on quality of life in the Swedish population. Statistical methods used for comparison were the Student t and chi-square tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean OHIP-14 value for the entire Ehlers-Danlos syndrome group was 11.1. The mean for women was 11.8, which was significantly higher than 6.8 of the comparison group. The OHIP-14 score varied among age groups, and the highest mean value was found in the age group between 56 and 65 years of age. The most statistically significant differences between the subjects with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and the comparison group were found for OHIP items 3, 4, and 8: "I have had pain in the mouth," "I have had discomfort when eating," and "I have been forced to interrupt meals."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is well-known that Ehlers-Danlos syndrome has a considerable impact on health-related quality of life, and this study is the first to reveal that women with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome report a low oral health-related quality of life as measured with the OHIP-14. Dimensions that were particularly relevant were physical pain, psychologic discomfort, and handicap.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, CLINTEC, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Berglund
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Björck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004535:Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D011788:Quality of Life; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult