142 Chapter 7 RESULTS A total 528 health records were included. The mean age of participants was 59.6 ± 16.0 years (N = 522), and the majority of the patients were women (68.4%) (N = 525). The European Medical Risk-Related History questionnaire, used to distinguish the different patient subgroups, was completed by 517 patients. The saliva secretion rates and scores on the inventories have previously been reported in detail [10] (Tables 1, 2 and 3). In summary, controls had significantly lower total XI scores than all other groups (Table 1), indicating that the overall dry-mouth feeling they experienced was the lowest. On the other hand, SS and SS + High Med patients had the highest XI scores, indicating that their overall dry mouth feeling was significantly more severe than the controls, Low Med patients and High Med patients (Table 1). With regard to the salivary flow rates, there was a trend whereby controls and Low Med patients had the highest salivary flow rates for UWS, CH-SWS and A-SWS, while SS and SS + High Med patients had the lowest (Table 1). The RODI scores also differed among the patient subgroups (Tables 2 and 3). In controls and SS patients, the posterior palate was the driest area, while in Low Med and High Med patients, it was the anterior tongue. The region that was experienced as least dry also differed among the patient subgroups. In Low Med, High Med and SS patients, it was the inside cheeks; in controls, it was the floor of the mouth (Tables 2 and 3). In RTX and SS + High Med patients, there were no significant differences among the intra-oral regions. Besides, the RODI scores for all intraoral regions were investigated among the various patient subgroups; SS and SS + High Med patients had the highest RODI scores for all regions, while controls and Low Med patients had the lowest (Tables 2 and 3). This difference was significant for all eight intra-oral regions. High Med and SS patients differed only significantly with regard to the RODI scores of the posterior palate, with SS patients experiencing more severe dryness of the posterior palate than High Med patients (Tables 2 and 3).
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