Depressive symptoms in individuals with idiopathic subjective dry mouth.
It has been known for many centuries that there is a relationship between saliva flow rate and emotional status. The significance of psychological processes in the subjective sensation of a dry mouth has been discussed earlier, and this study deals with the presence of depressive symptoms in individuals with idiopathic subjective sensation of a dry mouth. Depressive symptoms in 94 healthy subjects with normal flow rates for unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva but with a subjective sensation of a dry mouth were assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and compared with healthy age- and gender-matched controls. The subjects with a subjective dry mouth condition were significantly more depressive and also had a significantly higher frequency of depressive symptoms. Depression was found in 21.3% of the individuals with a subjective dry mouth sensation and in 3.2% of the controls. The results of this study indicate that, in some cases, subjective dry mouth may be of psychological origin.
Bergdahl
M
M
Department of Oral Biology, Umeå University, Sweden.
Bergdahl
J
J
Johansson
I
I
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003448:Crying / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012636:Secretory Rate / Q000502:physiology; D012649:Self Concept; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*