Epidemiological and Clinical Characterization of Older Adults with Xerostomia
Keywords:
older adults, oral disease, xerostomia, dental caries, gingivitisAbstract
Introduction: Xerostomia is one of the most common oral diseases in older adults.
Objective: To characterize older adults epidemiologically and clinically, taking into account the severity of xerostomia.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional and observational study was conducted at the dental care service of Policlínico 14 de Junio, Jobabo municipality, Las Tunas province, Cuba, between January and December 2023. The population consisted of 1245 older adults (aged 60 years and over) diagnosed with xerostomia; 209 patients were selected by simple random probability sampling. The variables age, sex, oral diseases and severity of xerostomia were studied. Absolute and relative frequency, chi-square (X2), Fisher's test, and Spearman's correlation were used with a significance level of α = 0.05.
Results: The correlation between age and severity of xerostomia in older adults was not statistically significant (Rho = 0.015; p = 0.827). The series was dominated by females (62.0 %; p = 0.086) and the 60-74 age group (72.0 %; p = 0.236); in both cases, there was no statistically significant relationship with the onset of xerostomia. However, gender was statistically significant with respect to the severity of xerostomia (p = 0.030). Moderate xerostomia (49.8 %) predominated in older adults with xerostomia-dental caries, a result that was statistically significant (p = 0.038).
Conclusions: Xerostomia in its most severe forms is related to the onset of dental caries and gingival enlargement in older adults, particularly in females.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Lian Cristino Nuñez Peña, Liuba González Espangler, Ana Ibis Bosch Nuñez, Susana Beatriz Oliu Bosch, Yordanis Garbey Pierre
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