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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Xerostomia and medications among 32-year-olds
William Murray Thomson1, Richie Poulton, Jonathan Mark Broadbent
1Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. murray.thomson@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
Objective:
To describe the prevalence and associations of xerostomia among adults in their early thirties, with particular attention to medication exposure as a putative risk factor.
Material And Methods:
The prevalence and associations of xerostomia were investigated among 32-year-old participants in a long-standing prospective cohort study. Some 950 individuals were assessed at ages 26 and 32 years, with medications being recorded on both occasions.
Results:
The prevalence of xerostomia was 10.0% (with no apparent gender difference), and was significantly higher among those taking antidepressants (odds ratio = 4.7), iron supplements (OR = 4.1) or narcotic analgesics (OR = 2.4). Those taking antidepressants at both ages 26 and 32 years had 22 times the odds of reporting xerostomia.
Conclusion:
Xerostomia may be a problem for a sizeable minority of young adults.
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