Age, Dental State and General Health as Risk Factors for Xerostomia and Hyposalivation

Xerostomia and hyposalivation are common among adults and may significantly influence both oral health and overall quality of life.

The aim of this study was to analyze patient-related risk factors of xerostomia and hyposalivation in a clinical cohort.

The clinical evaluation included measurements of unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow rates. Furthermore, the xerostomia inventory (XI) was employed, and an additional general question on xerostomia was included. For analyzing associations, nonparametric tests, chi-square tests, correlation analyses, and binary logistic regression were used.

A total of 116 adult volunteers participated in this study (59.5% women; mean age: 50.2 ± 18.7 years). Xerostomia was found in 14.7% of participants, while hyposalivation at rest and under stimulation was detected in 21.6% and 4.3%, respectively. The participants with xerostomia were significantly older (p = 0.002), and had fewer remaining teeth (p = 0.03). Hyposalivation at rest showed significant correlations with older age, higher number of medications, fewer remaining teeth, lower stimulated salivary flow rate, and higher XI scores (all p  < 0.05). Age was the only independent predictor of hyposalivation at rest, while hyposalivation at rest was the strongest predictor of xerostomia in binary logistic regression analysis.

Age, hyposalivation at rest, and XI score are the strongest markers of reduced salivary flow and xerostomia.