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.