The aim was to study whether the anticholinergic burden of drugs is related to xerostomia and salivary secretion among community-dwelling elderly people.
Anticholinergic drugs have been shown to be a risk factor for dry mouth, but little is known about the effects of cumulative exposure to anticholinergic drugs measured by anticholinergic burden on salivary secretion or xerostomia.
The study population consisted of 152 community-dwelling, dentate, non-smoking, older people from the Oral Health GeMS study. The data were collected by interviews and clinical examinations. Anticholinergic burden was determined using the Anticholinergic Drug Scale (ADS). A Poisson regression model with robust error variance was used to estimate relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI 95%).
Participants with a high-anticholinergic burden (ADS = 3) were more likely to have xerostomia (RR: 3.17; CI: 1.44-6.96), low-unstimulated salivary flow (
Kuopio Research Centre of Geriatric Care, Unit of Clinical Pharmacology and Geriatric Pharmacotherapy, School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland. kaija.komulainen@uef.fi
To study the associations of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and the handgrip strength with oral self-care among dentate home-dwelling elderly people in Finland.
The study analysed data for 168 dentate participants (mean age 80.6 years) in the population-based Geriatric Multidisciplinary Strategy for Good Care of the Elderly (GeMS) study. Each participant received a clinical oral examination and structured interview in 2004-2005. Functional status was assessed using the IADL scale and handgrip strength was measured using handheld dynamometry.
Study participants with high IADL (scores 7-8) had odds ratios (ORs) for brushing their teeth at least twice a day of 2.7 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.1-6.8], for using toothpaste at least twice a day of 2.0 (CI 0.8-5.2) and for having good oral hygiene of 2.8 (CI 1.0-8.3) when compared with participants with low IADL (scores =6). Participants in the upper tertiles of the handgrip strength had ORs for brushing the teeth at least twice a day of 0.9 (CI 0.4-1.9), for using the toothpaste at least twice a day of 0.9 (CI 0.4-1.8) and for good oral hygiene of 1.1 (CI 0.5-2.4) in comparison with the study subjects in the lowest tertile of handgrip strength.
The results of this study suggest that the functional status, measured by means of the IADL scale, but not handgrip strength, is an important determinant of oral self-care among the home-dwelling elderly.
To study the relation of sedative load to carious teeth and periodontal pocketing - indication of infectious periodontal disease - among older people.
This cross-sectional study was based on a subpopulation of 158 community-dwelling, dentate, non-smoking, 75-year-old or older people from the Oral Health Geriatric Multidisciplinary Strategy study. The data were collected by interviews and clinical oral examinations during 2004-2005. Sedative load was measured by means of the sedative load model, and Poisson multivariate regression models were used to estimate relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Participants with a sedative load of either 1-2 (n = 31) or =3 (n = 12) had an increased likelihood of having carious teeth (RR: 1.8, CI: 1.2-2.6 and RR: 2.4, CI: 1.4-4.1, respectively) compared to participants without a sedative load. There was an inverse association between sedative load and the number of teeth with periodontal pockets.
Presence of dental caries was associated with the use of drugs with sedative properties. The use of drugs with sedative properties was not associated with the presence of periodontal pockets.
