RESEARCH - Salivary gland and TMJ involvement in RA: relation to disease activity

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Oral Diseases

Volume 11 Page 27 - January 2005

Oral Medicine

Salivary gland and temporomandibular joint involvement in rheumatoid

arthritis: relation to disease activity

K Moen1,3, LT Bertelsen2, S Hellem3, R Jonsson1,2,4, JG Brun2

Objectives: To study temporomandibular joint (TMJ) involvement,

salivary gland dysfunction and oral mucosal lesions in rheumatoid arthritis

(RA), and to investigate the relationship to general disease activity.

Subjects and methods: The TMJ dysfunction index (Di), mean salivary

flow and disease activity score (DAS28), were calculated for 50 RA-patients,

and 23 non-RA patients (controls).

Results: Median Di was 5.5 (range: 0-21) for the RA-patients compared

with 2.0 (range: 0-9) for the controls (P < 0.0001). Pain on movement of the

TMJ (P = 0.015), muscular pain (P = 0.006), TMJ pain (P = 0.019) and Di as a

total (P = 0.009), significantly correlated with DAS28. Mean resting whole

saliva (RWS) flow was 2.6 (s.d. 2.4) ml per 15 min for the RA-patients and

4.5 (s.d. 3.0) for the controls (P = 0.003). RWS correlated positively with

haemoglobin (P = 0.021) and negatively with Westergren erythrocyte

sedimentation rate (ESR) (P = 0.029). No major differences in frequency of

oral mucosal lesions were seen between RA-patients and controls.

Conclusions: Higher frequency of TMJ and salivary gland dysfunction in

RA-patients compared with controls has been demonstrated. RA disease

activity is associated with hyposalivation and TMJ dysfunction.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1601-0825.2004.01054.x/abs/

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