Clinical factors influencing the resting and stimulated salivary flow

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the clinical and immunological factors influencing sialometry in xerostomia patients. Method: The association between sialometry and other clinical examinations were investigated in a cross-sectional study. A total of 179 dry mouth patients showing hyposalivation who underwent a clinical examination were enrolled in this study. Multiple regression analyses were employed to examine the relative contributions of clinical and immunological factors including age, gender, parotid sialography, labial Salivary gland biopsy, anti-Ro/SS-A antibodies, and antiLa/SS-B antibodies to the resting (RSF) or stimulated saliva flow rate (SSF). Results: An increase of the stage of sialography, the grade of a labial biopsy, and the presence of anti-La/SS-B antibody had a significant correlation with a decrease of sialometry. Results of the multiple regression analysis showed that age (standardized coefficient = −0.244), grade of lip biopsy (−0.189), and anti-SS-B antibody (−0.171), were significantly associated with the RSF. The stage of sialography (−0.423) and age (−0.169) were significantly related to the sialometry in the SSF according to a multiple regression analysis. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the measurement of RSF reflects the immunological factors and SSF reflects the damage to the parotid gland.