Sedative load and salivary secretion and xerostomia in community-dwelling older people.

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to investigate how sedative load and the total number of drugs used are related to hyposalivation and xerostomia among 75-year-old or older dentate, non-smoking, community-dwelling people.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study population consisted of 152 older people from the Oral Health GeMS study. The data were collected by interviews and clinical examinations during 2004-2005. Sedative load, which measures the cumulative effect of taking multiple drugs with sedative properties, was calculated using the Sedative Load Model.

RESULTS

The results showed that participants with a sedative load of either 1-2 or ≥3 had an increased likelihood of having low stimulated salivary flow (<0.7 ml/min; OR: 2.4; CI: 0.6-8.6 and OR: 11; CI: 2.2-59; respectively) and low unstimulated salivary flow (<0.1 ml/min; OR: 2.7, CI: 1.0-7.4 and OR: 4.5, CI: 1.0-20, respectively) compared with participants without a sedative load. Participants with a sedative load ≥3 had an increased likelihood of having xerostomia (OR: 2.5, CI: 0.5-12) compared with participants without a sedative load. The results showed that the association between the total number of drugs and hyposalivation was weaker than the association between sedative load and hyposalivation.

CONCLUSION

Sedative load is strongly related to hyposalivation and to a lesser extent with xerostomia. The adverse effects of drugs on saliva secretion are specifically related to drugs with sedative properties.