Association of salivary flow rate with oral function in a sample of community-dwelling older adults in Japan

Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the association of stimulated salivary flow rate with perceived salivary flow and various oral symptoms among a group of independently living elderly persons. Study design. The subjects were 351 persons (189 men and 162 women) with a mean age of 66.7 +/- 4.3 years. Stimulated whole saliva was collected with the mastication method. Self-assessed chewing ability and satisfaction with oral function also were evaluated. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine whether an independent variable was statistically significant. Results. Hyposalivation (odds ratio, 3.40; P <.05) and low perceived salivary flow (odds ratio, 5.35; P <.05) were significantly associated with dissatisfaction with tasting. Low perceived salivary flow was also significantly associated with self-assessed chewing ability (odds ratio, 3.32; P <.01). Conclusion. This study suggested that hyposalivation and low perceived salivary flow were related to chewing ability and satisfaction with tasting foods.