Abstract
Background: Treatment of patients with head and neck cancer can result in disrupted mastication. To measure masticatory performance in people with compromised mastication, the mixing ability test (MAT) was developed. Objective: In this study, the reliability of the MAT was evaluated in patients with head and neck cancer and healthy controls. Methods: Thirty-four patients with head and neck cancer and 42 healthy controls performed the MAT twice on the same day. To assess reliability, the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC2,1), standard error of measurement (SEM), smallest detectable change (SDC) and limits of agreement (LoA) were calculated. Results: A good (ICC = 0.886) and moderate correlation (ICC = 0.525) were found for patients and healthy controls, respectively. Patients had a worse mixing ability (mean = 19.12, SD = 4.56) in comparison with healthy controls (mean = 16.42, SD = 2.04). The SEM was 0.76 in patients and 1.45 in healthy controls, with a SDC of 2.12 and 4.02, respectively. The LoA was −4.46 to 4.42 in patients and −3.65 to 4.59 in healthy controls. Conclusion: The MAT has a good reliability in patients with head and neck cancer and a moderate reliability in healthy controls.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 961-966 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Oral Rehabilitation |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2020 |
Funding
We thank all patients and healthy controls for participating in this research. This study was carried out using the research infrastructure within the NET-QUBIC project (NETherlands QUality of life and BIomedical Cohort studies in Head and Neck Cancer) sponsored by the Dutch Cancer Society/Alpe d'HuZes.
Keywords
- chewing
- head and neck cancer
- mastication
- mixing ability test
- oral health
- reliability