ReviewDysphagia2026
The Role of Saliva in Swallowing: A Systematic Review.
Review in Dysphagia, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Saliva plays a critical role in swallowing by lubricating tissues and helping form and transport the food bolus. While low saliva production (hyposalivation) is linked to difficulty swallowing, emerging evidence shows that changes in saliva's physical and chemical properties may also affect swallowing. However, the mechanisms underlying these relationships remain poorly understood. The aim of this systematic review was to explore relationships between saliva and swallowing by reviewing studies that provided objective measurements of both saliva production and swallowing biomechanics. A comprehensive search of Medline (Ovid and PubMed), CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus was conducted, covering all records from database inception through August 22, 2025. We included studies that reported objective measures of saliva-such as flow rate, volume, thickness, pH, and biomarkers-and swallowing biomechanics. Three independent reviewers carried out two stages of screening, reviewed full texts, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of the methods using a modified Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM) scale. Most studies used a cross-sectional study design and were rated a "4" according to the OCEBM scale. In many studies, higher salivary flow rates were linked to increased spontaneous swallowing frequency in healthy adults. However, associations between saliva flow and specific swallowing biomechanical measures were not consistent. Lower levels of the neuropeptide substance p were associated with swallowing difficulties in several patient groups, but results varied across studies. The identified evidence suggests that salivary flow and neuropeptides may impact swallowing function, especially sensory function and spontaneous swallowing frequency. However, these relationships were inconsistent. Differences in the patient populations, saliva collection methods, and swallowing assessments made data synthesis between studies difficult. More standardized, long-term research is necessary to elucidate saliva's role in swallowing and improve clinical assessments for people with salivary dysfunction and dysphagia.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42828541What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.