By Nancy Volkers
InteliHealth News Service

A large percentage of the elderly have symptoms of either dry mouth (xerostomia) or burning mouth syndrome, according to a Finnish study.

Researchers examined 175 hospitalized older people (with an average age of 82) and compared them with 252 non-hospitalized older people (average age 77). They collected saliva samples and gathered information about medical diagnoses, medications and oral health.

Sixty-three percent of the hospitalized people and 57 percent of the non-hospitalized people complained of dry mouth. Among hospitalized patients, dry mouth was more common among those taking multiple medications. In both groups, people taking psychiatric drugs were twice as likely to report dry mouth as those not on such drugs.

Dry mouth often is a side effect of medications or a symptom of an underlying disease. People with dry mouth are at increased risk of tooth decay and fungal infections in the mouth.

In addition to dry mouth, some of the elderly studied complained of burning mouth syndrome, a burning sensation in the mouth that can be a symptom of an underlying disease, but often has no known cause.

Thirteen percent of the hospitalized elderly and 18 percent of the non-hospitalized elderly reported having burning mouth syndrome. Those with psychiatric conditions were more than eight times as likely to report burning mouth as those without psychiatric conditions. (Anxiety, depression and other psychiatric conditions are known to be common in people with burning mouth.) People taking pain-relief medications were half as likely to report burning mouth syndrome as people not taking these medications.

Dry mouth and burning mouth syndrome did not correlate with general health, except in those with psychiatric conditions. Few people reported having both dry mouth and burning mouth at the same time.

The study was reported in the December issue of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and Endodontics.