Research on association between dry mouth and digestive diseases and role as a clinical predictor

口腔干燥及其相关疾病，包括灼口和萎缩症，在老年人中正在增加，而胃食道反流病(GERD)和非糜烂性反流病(NERD)也在增加。本研究的目的是在养老院和老年大学的老年人中调查口腔干燥相关疾病与消化系统疾病如GERD/NERD的关系。我们的调查项目是口腔检查，包括舌和吞咽功能。结果显示，60%的GERD/NERD患者有口腔干燥，25%的患者有口腔灼热和口臭。有口腔干燥的老年人患GERD/NERD的风险大约是没有口腔干燥的老年人的5倍(优势比，4.8，95%可信区间，1.1-21.0)。此外，口腔干燥与胃肠动力低下，以及灼口/恶心与胃肠反流之间存在显著的相关性。这些发现提示口腔医生需要了解口腔干燥与消化系统疾病之间的关系，并促进医牙合作。

Oral dryness and its related diseases including burning mouth and disgeusia is being increasing among the elderly, while gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) is also increasing. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between oral dryness-related diseases and digestive diseases such as GERD/NERD in the elderly individuals of care houses and senior college. Our items of the survey were oral examination including tongue and swallowing function. The results showed that the 60% of individuals with GERD/NERD had oral dryness, and 25% of the individuals had burning mouth and disgeusia. The elderly with oral dryness had higher risk of GERD/NERD approximately 5 times than those without oral dryness (Odds ratio, 4.8, 95% Confidence Intervals, 1.1 -21.0). Furthermore, there were significant associations between oral dryness and gastrointestinal hypomotility, and between burning mouth/disguesia and gastrointestinal reflux. These findings suggest that dental practitioners need to know the association between oral dryness and digestive diseases, and also promote the medical-dental cooperation.