Poor Oral Health in Patients with Schizophrenia: a Meta-Analysis of Case-Control Studies

Patients with schizophrenia have high rates of comorbid physical illness, but there has been less attention to dental diseases in these patients. This meta-analysis of case-control studies systematically examined the oral health in patients with schizophrenia. Case-control studies comparing the oral health in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls were screened and identified. Standardized mean difference (SMD) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using RevMan version 5.3. Three case-control studies comprising 306 patients with schizophrenia and 306 healthy controls were included in this meta-analysis. All studies were rated as "high quality". Patients with schizophrenia had significantly higher scores of decayed, missing and filled teeth (SMD = 0.83, 95%CI: 0.57, 1.09, p < 0.001; I² = 51%), missing teeth (SMD = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.59, 0.98, p < 0.001; I² = 19%), and decayed teeth (SMD = 0.89, 95%CI: 0.24, 1.54, p = 0.008; I² = 92%) when compared to healthy controls. Similarly, patients with schizophrenia had significantly lower filled teeth scores (SMD = -0.76, 95%CI: -1.44, -0.09, p = 0.03; I² = 93%) when compared to healthy controls. This meta-analysis found that patients with schizophrenia were likely to have worse oral health when compared to healthy controls.