Table 1.
Characteristics of patients and healthy volunteers.
| Characteristics | Patients n = 65 |
Volunteers n = 62 |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Mean ± SD 59 ± 13 |
Mean ± SD 43 ± 15 |
| Smoking | 2 ± 0.2 | 4 ± 1 |
| Smokeless tobacco | 1 ± 1.4 | 2 ± 0.1 |
| Alcohol | 1.3 ± 1.2 | 1.6 ± 0.5 |
| Mouthwash | 1.2 ± 1 | 1.5 ± 0.5 |
| USFR * | 0.13 ± 0.1 | 0.6 ± 0.4 |
| SSFR * | 0.6 ± 0.7 | 11.8 ± 26 |
| CODS * | 16 ± 30 | 0.7 ± 1 |
| Xerostomia Inventory | 48 ± 5 | 16.6 ± 5 |
| VAS * smell | 7.5 ± 17 | 11.2 ± 25 |
| Disease duration | 17.2 ± 16 | --- |
* USFR: unstimulated salivary flow rate; cut-off value is ≤1.5 mL of saliva in 15 min. * SSFR: stimulated salivary flow rate; cut-off value is ≤0.6 mL/min of the whole stimulated salivary flow rate. * CODS: clinical oral dryness scale. Mild dryness is indicated with scores ranging from one to three. Moderate dryness refers to scores ranging from four to six and severe dryness for scores from seven to ten. * VAS: visual analogue score; cut-off value was specified at <50, indicating a poor rating.