Investigating the Quality of Life in Adult Patients with Self-reported Halitosis

Abstract

Halitosis is a symptom in which a noticeably unpleasant breath odor is present. Most adults suffer from it. It is one of the reasons to refer to dental clinics. Since bad breath makes individuals stressed, recognizing and evaluating its causes to decrease or remove this symptom is of high importance. When bad breath is severe it causes depression, reducing self-confidence, and sociality in individuals. Furthermore, it causes academic failure in children. Thus it can affect individuals’ quality of life. The current study aimed at investigating the quality of life in patients with self-reported halitosis. In this descriptive cross-sectional study the quality of life in patients with self-reported halitosis was investigated using the HALT-18 questionnaire. 189 patients referred to the dental clinic of Golestan University of Medical Sciences aged 15 and above with self-reported halitosis were selected via convenience sampling. Participants were investigated using a questionnaire. Data were entered in STATA version 14 and were analyzed via descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, percentage, and frequency), analysis of variance, and independent T-test. The level of significance was set at P=0/05. The overall average quality of life in patients was 38/65 ± 10/23, 38/77±10/49 for women, and 38/9±45/84 for men. There was not a significant relation between the quality of life and age, occupation, and education. The score of the quality of life in patients is average. Since it has some negative effects on daily life, and social and individual relationships, recognition and therapeutic interventions should be done to improve patients’ quality of life.