The Xerostomia Inventory: a multi-item approach to measuring dry mouth.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a valid multi-item method of measuring the symptoms of xerostomia which includes the wide range of xerostomia symptoms in a single quantitative measure.


METHODS
A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches.


METHODS
A cohort study in South Australia.


METHODS
Older people aged 65 years or more who were taking part in the South Australian Dental Longitudinal Study.


METHODS
Xerostomia symptoms were evaluated using a multi-item inventory format and, for comparison purposes, a standard single dry-mouth question. Resting whole-salivary flow rate was estimated using the 'spit' method.


RESULTS
Xerostomia and flow-rate data were available for 636 individuals. Factor analysis revealed the presence of a discrete xerostomia dimension, represented by 11 items whose responses were summated to give a single Xerostomia Inventory (XI) scale score. This had a very low correlation with resting flow rate but a much stronger, positive correlation with the standard dry-mouth question responses.


CONCLUSIONS
The XI shows adequate content and concurrent validity, and appears to be a promising advance on previous approaches to xerostomia symptomatology although further testing is required.
Thomson
W M
WM
Department of Oral Health, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Chalmers
J M
JM
Spencer
A J
AJ
Williams
S M
SM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013021:South Australia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000175:diagnosis*