Journal
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY
Volume 59, Issue 3, Pages 439-445Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.03309.x
Keywords
xerostomia; rural; nutrition; oral health
Categories
Funding
- National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research [R01 DE017092]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
OBJECTIVES To quantify prevalence of dry mouth, association between dry mouth and beverage intake and dietary quality, and association between dry mouth and self-reported dietary accommodations to oral health deficits. DESIGN Cross-sectional study; data from self-reports. SETTING Rural North Carolina counties with substantial African-American and American Indian populations. PARTICIPANTS Six hundred twenty-two participants aged 60 and older. MEASUREMENTS Data included the 11-item Xerostomia Inventory (higher scores connote greater effect from dry mouth), a food frequency questionnaire (converted into Health Eating Index-2005 scores), and survey items on foods modified before consumption or avoided because of oral health problems. RESULTS Dry mouth was associated with being female, lower education, and income below the poverty level. Although overall beverage consumption did not vary with dry mouth, consumption of certain sugar-sweetened beverages was positively associated with dry mouth. Overall dietary quality did not differ with dry mouth, but more-severe dry mouth was associated with lower intake of whole grains and higher intakes of fruits. Dry mouth was strongly associated with self-reported modification and avoidance of foods. Those in the highest tertile of dry mouth were more likely to modify several foods than those in the lowest tertile and were more likely to avoid three or more foods. CONCLUSION Older adults appear to modify foods or selectively avoid foods in response to perceived dry mouth. Despite these behaviors, dry mouth does not result in poorer dietary quality.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available