Investigation of xerostomia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The authors investigated the prevalence of xerostomia in a group of 604 subjects participating in a rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, study to explore the relationship of reduced salivary flow symptoms and demographic, clinical and medical characteristics. Forty-three percent of these subjects exhibited one or more severe xerostomia symptoms. Separate analyses revealed that the subjects who had the most physical disease symptoms were at greater risk of having reduced salivary flow. The study's results suggest that patients with RA should be screened for xerostomia symptoms so appropriate clinical interventions can be initiated.