Correlation between Xerostomia index, Clinical Oral Dryness Scale, and ESSPRI with different hyposalivation tests

Xerostomia is a subjective measure of dry mouth, while hyposalivation is an objective measure of reduced saliva flow rate. In this study, we aim to assess the association between commonly used xerostomia scoring systems, with different hyposalivation measures among Sjogren Syndrome (SS) patients.

In a cohort of SS patients, we assessed xerostomia using Xerostomia index, clinical oral dryness scale (CODS), and the European League Against Rheumatism SS Patient-Reported Index (ESSPRI), and we assessed hyposalivation using unstimulated whole saliva flow (UWS), stimulated whole saliva flow (SWS), and stimulated parotid flow (SPF). We analyzed the association between xerostomia and hyposalivation using association tests in SPSS.

We included a total of 49 patients in this study, of which 34 (68%) had primary SS, and 15 (32%) had secondary. CODS was significantly correlated with SWS (P=0.048), with a negative correlation coefficient of 0.216, and with SPF (P=0.009), with a negative correlation coefficient of 0.291. The dryness domain of ESSPRI was significantly correlated with UWS (P=0.031) with a negative correlation coefficient of 0.233.

CODS is the scoring system with the highest correlation with hyposalivation, particularly SWS and SPF, followed by ESSPRI dry domain, which is correlated with UWS. Xerostomia index is not correlated with hyposalivation.