Background The aim of this study was to identify predictors of the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in patients with head and neck cancers (HNCs). Material and Methods In total, 345 patients with HNCs were interviewed. A self-report questionnaire was administered to collect data about demographic characteristics, health status, smoking, alcohol consumption habits, and HRQoL. It were used the EORTC Instruments - Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30-questions (QLQ-C30), Quality of Life Questionnaire - Head and Neck Module 35-questions (QLQ-H&N 35) and OHIP-14 instrument for HRQoL assessments. Clinical information and treatment data were collected from medical records. Results Five groups of HRQoL predictors were identified: demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, psychophysical, and clinical/treatment. These HRQoL predictors had a strong (i.e., age, level of social support and social contact, level of education, depression, fatigue, presence of gastrostomy, comorbidities, and use of pain medications and supplements), a moderate (i.e., marital status, smoking, sexuality problems, time since diagnosis, presence of tracheostomy, and side effects outcomes of radio and chemotherapy) and a small impact (i.e., employment/financial difficulties, tumor site and stage, and surgical procedure). Conclusions Study identified nineteen predictors that had significant, moderate and small impact on the HRQoL of patients with HNCs. Some of the predictors, like levels of social support and social contact, depression, and comorbidities could be targets for innervations to improve HRQoL. Key words: Quality of Life, oral health, combined modality therapy, treatment outcome.
Background The Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) was designed to assess patients’ perception of the impact of oral disorders on their quality of life (QoL). Although the OHIP-14 is now frequently used in patients with head and neck cancer, data related to its measurement properties in this population are scarce. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the OHIP-14 in a sample of Serbian patients with head and neck cancer. Material and Methods Data were available for 345 patients (257 [74.5%] males; aged 30-92 years), with head and neck cancer. All patients completed the OHIP-14 and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35. Factor analyses, internal consistency reliability (i.e., Cronbach’s α coefficient), and construct validity were analyzed. Results The factor analyses confirmed that 14 OHIP items were measuring a single underlying factor. Cronbach’s α coefficient was 0.98 and corrected item-total correlations ranged 0.77-0.93. Lower OHIP-14 scores (i.e., lower impacts on oral health) were more frequently present among patients who had only surgery as a therapeutic procedure compared to those who had surgery accompanied with radio- and chemotherapy ( p < 0.01). Patients with a tumor stage 0-II also had lower OHIP-14 scores compared to those who had a tumor stage III-IV ( p < 0.01). The OHIP-14 correlated significantly with the QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 scales. Conclusions As a unidimensional instrument, the OHIP-14 provides oral QoL assessments with sound internal consistency reliability and construct validity among patients with head and neck cancer. Key words: Quality of life, oral health, psychometrics, reliability, validity.
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