Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41824280›Full record

ArticleDrugs & aging2026

Association Between Anticholinergic Burden and Dry Mouth Severity in Acutely Ill Older Adults.

Ingrid Beate Ringstad, Eva Skovlund, Leonor Roa Santervas, Hege Kersten, Katrine Gahre Fjeld, Lene Hystad Hove, Torgeir Bruun Wyller, Janicke Liaaen Jensen, Rita Romskaug

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Article in Drugs & aging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Ingrid Beate RingstadDepartment of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Blindern, P.O. Box 1109, 0317, Oslo, Norway. i.b.ringstad@odont.uio.no.ORCID 0009-0009-0090-349X
Eva SkovlundDepartment of Public Health and Nursing, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-2997-6141
Leonor Roa SantervasInstitute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0009-0007-3615-6401
Hege KerstenInstitute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0003-1063-5985
Katrine Gahre FjeldDepartment of Cariology and Gerodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0009-0004-3368-6018
Lene Hystad HoveDepartment of Cariology and Gerodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0003-2928-5065
Torgeir Bruun WyllerInstitute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-0330-9471
Janicke Liaaen JensenDepartment of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Blindern, P.O. Box 1109, 0317, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0003-4276-9611
Rita RomskaugDepartment of Geriatric Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-3251-6349

Funding

South-Eastern Norway Health Authorities 2022066
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDry mouth is a common and burdensome condition in older adults and its severity may increase with use of anticholinergic medications. The aims were to describe anticholinergic medication use among acutely ill older adults, examine the association between anticholinergic burden and dry mouth severity using the composite Dry Mouth Severity Points (DMSP) measure and investigate whether the association differs by sex.

methodsPatients ≥70 years admitted to Oslo municipal inpatient acute care unit were eligible. Anticholinergic burden (ACB) was assessed using the ACB calculator and classified as 0, lower (ACB = 1-2) or high (ACB = ≥ 3). Dry mouth severity was quantified with DMSP, range 0-4, assigning one point for each indicator above cut-off: General Xerostomia Question ≥ 3, Summated Xerostomia Inventory ≥ 11, Clinical Oral Dryness Score ≥ 6 and unstimulated whole saliva secretion rate ≤ 0.1 mL/min. Associations were examined with ordinal logistic regression.

resultsOf 382 examined patients, 256 (mean age 84 ± 7 years, 70% women) had complete data. Mean [standard deviation (SD)] ACB score was 2.0 (1.7); 18% had ACB = 0, 50% had ACB = 1-2 and 32% had ACB = ≥ 3. DMSP scores of 0, 1, 2 and ≥ 3 were present in 29%, 36%, 23% and 12%, respectively. Compared with patients with ACB = 0, those with ACB = 1-2 [odds ratio (OR) = 2.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-3.97) and ACB = ≥ 3 (OR = 2.25, 95% CI 1.09-4.63) had higher odds of more severe dry mouth. Women had significantly higher ACB and DMSP scores than men.

conclusionsEven lower anticholinergic burden was associated with greater dry mouth severity, highlighting the need for early recognition and proactive management in acutely ill older adults.

Indexed as

Cholinergic AntagonistsXerostomiaAcute DiseaseAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleSeverity of Illness IndexCholinergic Antagonists

Identifiers

PMID41824280
PMCPMC13038769

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.