Evaluate five different diagnostic tests for dry mouth assessment in geriatric residents in long-term institutions in Taiwan

Assessment of oral hypofunction and its association with age among Korean community-dwelling older adults

BACKGROUND

Due to the increasing proportion of older adults in Korea and growing interest in aging, the concepts of oral aging and oral hypofunction have recently been introduced. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the age-specific oral function levels of Korean older adults and develop expert intervention methods for healthy aging.

METHODS

Dysphagia, independence of daily living, and oral hypofunction were assessed in 206 older adults living in Wonju, Gangwon State, South Korea. Subjective dysphagia was assessed through self-report questionnaires using the Dysphagia Handicap Index (DHI), the Korean version of Eating Assessment Tool-10, and the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index. In addition, the oral hypofunction assessment items included decreased chewing ability, occlusal pressure, tongue pressure, oral dryness, and oral cleanliness.

RESULTS

DHI increased significantly with age, with those in their 80 s reporting the most difficulty swallowing. Oral function in terms of chewing ability (maximum occlusal pressure and number of remaining teeth), maximum occlusal pressure, and maximum tongue pressure also declined with increasing age. While there was no significant difference in oral dryness by age, those in their 80 s had dry mouth according to the criteria of the oral moisture checking device.

CONCLUSIONS

In an assessment of oral function in community-dwelling, independent Korean older adults, the number of items that were assessed as oral hypofunction increased with age. The findings can be used to standardize the oral hypofunction assessment item and develop age-based individualized intervention plans for the early management of oral health and individual oral myofunctional rehabilitation in Korean community-dwelling older adults.

Rural-urban disparities in Oral Health-related Quality of Life for middle-aged and older adults with diabetes in Taiwan

Background

Public health faces a significant challenge in reducing rural-urban disparities in diabetes. Since dietary control is part of the medical regimen for diabetes management, how diabetic patients perceive the impact of oral health on their quality of life is critical. The present study aimed to compare the Oral Health-related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) between rural and urban diabetic patients.

Methods

The study design was cross-sectional. The study sample included 831 self-reported diabetic patients, extracted from the first wave of the new-cohort Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging survey (NC_TLSA) that comprised a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling adults aged 50 and above in Taiwan. The composite score generated from the Oral Health Impact Profile-7 (OHIP-7), which has seven questions, was used to construct two OHRQoL measures, the severity of perceived poor OHRQoL and the prevalence of poor OHRQoL. These two OHRQoL measures were treated as dichotomous variables. Multivariate logistic regression models were applied for analysis.

Results

Rural diabetic patients had a higher likelihood of experiencing the severity of perceived poor OHRQoL than those in urban areas (OR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.30-4.40). Although rural diabetic patients also had a higher prevalence of poor OHRQoL than urban diabetic patients, the difference was not significant (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 0.95-2.28). Social determinants, such as education, are essential factors attributed to both OHRQoL measures.

Conclusion

Overall, rural diabetes community-dwelling patients had a poorer OHRQoL than those in urban areas. Given a bidirectional relationship between oral health and diabetes, improving oral health in rural areas may be a critical avenue to improve the quality of diabetes care in rural areas.

Prevalence of xerostomia in women during breast cancer chemotherapy

OBJECTIVE

To identify the prevalence of xerostomia in women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

METHOD

Prospective cohort with 27 women who underwent up to 16 sessions of intravenous chemotherapy. Data collection was performed at the outpatient clinic of a university hospital in the city of São Paulo, where two forms were applied before the start of treatment and the Xerostomia Inventory before and after each chemotherapy session.

RESULTS

Complaints of dry mouth were present in 48.1% of women before chemotherapy, and they were approximately 28 times more likely to develop dry mouth during treatment. It was observed that the use of antiemetics contributed to the occurrence of xerostomia, and the anti-ulcerous were presented as a protective factor.

CONCLUSION

The study identified both a high prevalence of xerostomia regardless of the chemotherapy used and the need to create protocols to improve the quality of life of these patients.

Diagnostic accuracy of patient-reported dry mouth as a predictor for oral dryness in terminally ill cancer patients

PURPOSE

The aim of the study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of patient-reported dry mouth using an oral moisture-checking device in terminally ill cancer patients.

METHODS

The study was conducted following the STARD guidelines, and the participants were recruited prospectively from the Palliative Care Unit, Kyoto Medical Center, Japan, between 1 January 2017 and 30 November 2018. Patients reporting dry mouth were asked to rate oral dryness on a 5-point rating scale. The outcome was oral dryness at the lingual mucosa, measured using an oral moisture-checking device. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV), positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR), and overall diagnostic accuracy were calculated.

RESULTS

Of 103 participants, the prevalence of oral dryness was 65.0%. ROC analysis indicated that patient-reported dry mouth was a poor predictor of oral dryness, with an area under the curve of 0.616 (95% confidence interval: 0.508-0.723), a sensitivity of 46.3%, a specificity of 75.8%, a PPV of 55.9%, an NPV of 68.1, a positive LR of 1.9, a negative LR of 0.7, and an overall diagnostic accuracy of 64.1%, with a cut-off value of 3 points.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, patient-reported dry mouth is not a useful parameter for the assessment of oral dryness in terminally ill cancer patients.

Predictive Roles of the Repetitive Saliva Swallowing Test (RSST) in Aspiration Pneumonia and Other Respiratory Diseases: Does the RSST Have a Predictive Role in Aspiration Pneumonia and Other Respiratory Diseases?

Patients with dysphagia do not always present with subjective symptoms. However, asymptomatic dysphagia can also cause clinical issues, especially in those with respiratory conditions. Therefore, adequate screening is an essential beginning to their care. The repetitive saliva swallowing test (RSST) is one of the safest screening methods for dysphagia; it can be easily performed by nonprofessionals in any setting. There is evidence of its predictive values in aspiration pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), artificial ventilation, and other conditions. Additionaly, it has recently been found to be a strong predictor of the risk of future COPD exacerbation. The cost-effectiveness, harmlessness, and simplicity make it an optimal screening method for the large population of patients with respiratory conditions, although different cutoff values may be useful in different populations. It also takes into account multiple aspects of the swallowing ability, such as respiration, musculature, cognition, and general well-being.