Oral mucosal diseases include autoimmune, inflammatory, and infectious disorders that can substantially affect patients’ physical, psychological, and social well-being. Psychological factors are reported to influence oral health-related quality of life in affected individuals, particularly through pain, visible lesions, and impaired social functioning. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 statement and registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261288659). The review question was structured using the PECO framework. Population included patients with oral mucosal diseases, specifically recurrent aphthous ulcer, oral lichen planus, oral leukoplakia, and oral submucous fibrosis. Exposures included psychological factors such as distress, depression, anxiety, and psychological interventions. Comparators were patients without psychological intervention or healthy controls. Outcomes were oral health-related quality of life and patient-reported psychological status. Six electronic databases, including CNKI, WanFang Data, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library, were searched from inception to 30 August 2025, limited to English or Chinese studies. Eligible studies included cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies involving patients with diagnosed oral mucosal diseases and clearly reported outcomes. Risk of bias, heterogeneity, and evidence certainty were assessed using design-appropriate tools. A total of 468 records were identified. After removal of 183 duplicates, 235 records were excluded during title and abstract screening and 11 were excluded following full-text review. Ultimately, 39 studies published between 2014 and 2025 were included in the final synthesis. Thematic analysis identified three major domains: Disease characteristics, psychological factors, and quality-of-life outcomes. Across oral mucosal disease subtypes, the included studies suggested a close association between disease burden, psychological distress, and poorer patient-reported outcomes. Psychological factors are influential to oral health-related quality of life in patients with oral mucosal diseases. Combining generic and disease-specific assessment tools could support a more comprehensive evaluation of psychological status and quality of life. Greater awareness of psychological problems, together with symptom management and social support, could help improve overall well-being and quality of life in this population.
Yao et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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