Impact of the oral repercussions of Sjogren's Syndrome on patient's quality of life – a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective This study aimed to perform a systematic review to evaluate the impact of the oral repercussions of Sjogren's Syndrome (SS) on the quality of life (QoL) of patients living with this disease. Methods This study followed the PRISMA guidelines. The included studies evaluated oral repercussions of SS and their correlation with QoL. The risk of bias was assessed with the JBI tools for each type of study design. Results Twenty-six articles met the eligibility criteria. Seventeen articles (65.3%) used the OHIP-14 questionnaire to evaluate oral health-related QoL (OHRQoL) and showed that the oral repercussions of SS had a negative impact. Ten studies applied other QoL instruments, in which 5 found a correlation between oral repercussions of SS and poorer OHRQoL, 3 showed no correlation, and 2 were unclear. Due to significant heterogeneity, the meta-analysis was limited to 8 of the 17 studies that used the OHIP-14. The results showed statistically significant poorer OHRQoL in individuals with SS compared to healthy controls. Conclusion Oral repercussions of SS negatively affect QoL. However, future studies should focus on standardized methodology to provide more homogenous and comparable evidence.