title: Prevalence and impact of xerostomia on the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS from Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of xerostomia on the quality of life (QOL) of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) from Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was performed on 195 PLWHA. Xerostomia was detected by asking a question about the sensation of having "dry mouth," and Oral Health Impact Profile 14 (OHIP-14) was used to measure the impact of xerostomia on QOL. Time of diagnosis of HIV/AIDS was assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 78 (40.0%) subjects presented with xerostomia. Xerostomia was associated with female gender, low amount of saliva perceived (p ≤ .01), difficulty in swallowing food (p ≤ .05), and showed to have a negative impact on QOL as measured by OHIP-14 (p ≤ .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Xerostomia was frequent and showed to have a negative impact on the QOL of PLWHA.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ivana Maria Saes
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Busato
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thomaz
authors.forename: Alexandre Issamu
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Toda
authors.forename: Danilo Gustavo Pulita
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Alanis
authors.forename: Beatriz Helena Sottile
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: França
authors.forename: Antônio Adilson Soares
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Lima
authors.forename: Luciana Reis
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Azevedo-Alanis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult