Salivary Flow and Xerostomia in Premenopausal and Postmenopausal Women

Purpose: To analyze quantitatively and comparatively the salivary flow and the occurrence of xerostomia in premenopausal and postmenopausal women by a case-control study.Method: The sample was composed by 40 women allocated in a group of 20 premenopausal women aged 35 to 44 years, and a group of 20 postmenopausal women aged 51 to 80 years. All patients underwent a clinical interview by means of a questionnaire arguing on xerostomia and were submitted to total stimulated sialometry. Sialometry was performed in the morning and the patients were instructed not to brush their teeth, eat, drink or smoke and to avoid exaggerated exercises at least 1 hour before sample collection. Salivary flow rate was expressed in milliliters per minute (mL/min). The values were ranked as follows: normal flow = 1.0 to 3.0 mL/min; low flow = 0.7 to 1.0 mL/min; hyposalivation = less than 0.7 mL/min. The non-use of hormone reposition therapy was considered as an inclusion criterion, while previous or current radiotherapy was considered as an exclusion criterion. Chi-square test was applied to verify the association between the variables (p<0.05).Results: There was no statistically significant association (p=0.1967) between menopause and xerostomia, whereas positive association (p= 0.0127) was found between menopause and salivary flow, this association being evident between normal flow and hyposalivation (p=0.0058).Conclusion: There seems to be no relationship between menopause and xerostomia, though hyposalivation was significantly associated to menopause in the examined women.