Abstract
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic oral mucosal burning and pain disorder, predominantly affecting the middle-aged and elderly women. This study aimed to explore the association between polypharmacy and BMS, with consideration of the patients' age and sex. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical data from 115 BMS patients and 115 age- and sex-matched control subjects were collected. Medications were categorized into four groups based on the number of medications taken. The chi-square test, Student's t-test, and binary logistic regression were performed to evaluate the association between polypharmacy and BMS, after adjustment for age and sex. RESULTS: A higher proportion of individuals with medications was observed in the BMS group than in the control group (P = 0.0015). Among BMS patients, the older group (≥ 65 years), especially the female BMS patients, tended to take more medications. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between polypharmacy and increased odds of having BMS. After adjustment for age and sex, the patients in the minor polypharmacy group (1-4 medications) had significantly higher odds of having BMS compared to those in the non-pharmacy group (no medications), with an adjusted odds ratio of 5.015 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest a potential association between multiple medications and the risk of having BMS and supported the need to consider polypharmacy as a contributing factor for the older BMS patient. However, future studies should be conducted to explore the exact dose-response trend and the influence of other associated factors on BMS.