Abstract
BackgroundSystemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune multi-systemic disease with predominant affection of connective tissue. Skin is characteristically affected in SSc and is almost responsible for oral complications as well as aesthetic changes which affect the patient’s oral health-related quality of life. The Mouth Handicap in Systemic Sclerosis (MHISS) Questionnaire is the first tool to subjectively calculate the handicap associated with mouth disability in SSc patients. This study aimed to test for reliability, the validity of the Arabic version of the MHISS to be used in Arabian systemic sclerosis.ResultsThis study was conducted on 38 females with SSc with a mean age of 48.7 ± 5.01 years and a mean disease duration of 6.23 ± 3.14 years—18 patients (47.4%) have diffuse SSc while 20 (52.6%) have localised SSc. The mean value of the total MHISS for SSc patients was 12.21 ± 3.51, test–retest reliability of the Arabic version was excellent (ICC = 0.991) with excellent internal consistency (Chronbach’s α = 0.892) with significant negative correlation with mouth opening (r = − 0.512, p < 0.05) and no correlation with the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI).ConclusionOur results demonstrated that the Arabic version of the MHISS questionnaire had excellent test–retest reliability and very good validity in measuring mouth disabilities in Arabian SSc patients.
Highlights
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune multi-systemic disease with predominant affection of connective tissue
The aim of this study was to test for reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the Mouth Handicap in Systemic Sclerosis (MHISS) to be used in Arabian systemic sclerosis patients
Patients Adult Arabian literate female patients with an age range of 18–60 years, diagnosed to have SSc according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria [12] for Systemic Sclerosis 2013, and attending the outpatient & inpatient department of Physical Medicine, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation of Care National Hospital Riyadh, NJCH, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ain Shams University Hospitals, Egypt were asked to participate in this study after giving a written consent
Summary
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune multi-systemic disease with predominant affection of connective tissue. Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune multisystemic disease with predominant affection of connective tissue with excessive collagen deposition, microvascular damage, and obliteration It affects mainly the skin joints, tendons as well as internal organs such as the lungs, heart, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract [1]. Fibrosis of the soft tissue around the mandibles and osteolysis of the mandibular angles add more to the microstomia [5] These orofacial manifestations are typical and characteristic for SSc patients, affecting their oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) such as eating, the ability to incise large solid foods, and chewing, as well as speaking especially when associated with xerostomia (sicca syndrome) leading to nutritional affection; microstomia renders the daily oral hygiene and dental care by the dentist to a challenging mission [6]. Aesthetic changes due to skin fibrosis are considered as one of the most annoying aspects of SSc [7]
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