PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Marília Lins e Silva AU - Camila Nunes Carvalho AU - Alessandra de Albuquerque Tavares Carvalho AU - Jair Carneiro Leão AU - Angela Luzia Pinto Duarte AU - Luiz Alcino Gueiros TI - Effect of Xerostomia on the Functional Capacity of Subjects with Rheumatoid Arthritis AID - 10.3899/jrheum.151211 DP - 2016 Sep 01 TA - The Journal of Rheumatology PG - jrheum.151211 4099 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2016/08/29/jrheum.151211.short 4100 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2016/08/29/jrheum.151211.full AB - Objective To evaluate the intensity of xerostomia and hyposalivation in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as well as the effects of these conditions on functional incapacity and disease activity. Methods The study sample comprised 236 individuals of both sexes who had RA. All the individuals were submitted to clinical evaluation and unstimulated sialometry. Functional capacity was determined by using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), xerostomia was assessed using the Xerostomia Inventory, and disease activity was evaluated with the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28). The effect of Sjögren syndrome (SS) was analyzed, and the sample was divided into 2 groups: RA (191 subjects) and RA/SS (45 subjects). Results The Xerostomia Inventory showed positive and significant correlation with fatigue (r = 0.243; p < 0.0001), number of painful joints (r = 0.218; p = 0.001), HAQ (r = 0.279; p < 0.0001), and DAS28 (r = 0.156; p < 0.0001). On regression analysis, both xerostomia (OR 3.89, 95% CI 1.84-8.23, p < 0.001) and DAS28 (for severe disease activity: OR 13.26, 95% CI 3.15-55.79, p < 0.001) showed influence on functional incapacity. Forty-five individuals (19.1%) presented with secondary SS, and having this diagnosis was not associated with disease activity or functional capacity. Conclusion Xerostomia demonstrated an adverse effect on quality of life of subjects with RA, being associated with a reduction in functional capacity. In this clinical setting, xerostomia can be monitored as a marker of worse clinical evolution.