Abstract
ObjectiveThe aim of this systematic review was to critically evaluate the Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for masticatory function in adults.MethodsFive electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, CINAHL Plus and APA PsycINFO) were searched up to March 2021. Studies reporting development or validation of PROMs for masticatory function on adults were identified. Methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) risk of bias checklist. Psychometric properties of the PROM in each included study were rated against the criteria for good measurement properties based on the COSMIN guideline.ResultsTwenty-three studies investigating 19 PROMs were included. Methodological qualities of these studies were diverse. Four types of PROMs were identified: questions using food items to assess masticatory function (13 PROMs), questions on chewing problems (3 PROMs), questions using both food items and chewing problems (2 PROMs) and a global question (1 PROM). Only a few of these PROMs, namely chewing function questionnaire-Chinese, Croatian or Albanian, food intake questionnaire-Japanese, new food intake questionnaire-Japanese, screening for masticatory disorders in older adults and perceived difficulty of chewing-Tanzania demonstrated high or moderate level of evidence in several psychometric properties.ConclusionsCurrently, there is no PROM for masticatory function in adults with high-level evidence for all psychometric properties. There are variations in the psychometric properties among the different reported PROMs.Trial Registration PROSPERO (CRD42020171591).
Highlights
Masticatory difficulty or masticatory problem is prevalent in older adults worldwide [1,2,3]
Eligibility criteria Based on the COSMIN guideline, the study inclusion criteria in the present review were: (1) studies investigating the development or validation of subjective assessment of masticatory function, regardless of study design; (2) studies on adults; and (3) studies published in English with full text available
There were four types of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs): (1) questions related to chewing specific food items (15 studies, 13 PROMs) [7, 8, 26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38], (2) questions related to chewing problems
Summary
Masticatory difficulty or masticatory problem is prevalent in older adults worldwide [1,2,3]. Self-assessment of masticatory function is evaluated using questionnaires and interviews. A recent systematic review reported that none of the established objective assessments of masticatory function had strong evidence for all measurement properties and these assessments required sieves or digital image software [6]. Self-assessment of masticatory function uses patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), mainly questionnaires. This has the advantage of assessing masticatory function from the person’s perspective, taking into account adaptational and psychological factors. Some studies found there were correlations between self-assessment and objective assessment of masticatory function [7,8,9]. The COSMIN guideline was developed to enhance the quality of systematic review of PROMs [15,16,17,18]
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