Relationship of unstimulated saliva cortisol level with severity of oral dryness feeling in menopausal women

Abstract

Background: Menopause may be associated with some adverse changes, such as oral dryness (OD) feeling. The exact mechanisms that mediate sensation of OD in menopausal women have not been firmly established. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of unstimulated whole saliva cortisol level with severity of OD feeling in menopausal women. Methods: A case control study was carried out on 70 selected menopausal women with ⁄ without OD feeling, conducted at the Clinic of Oral Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The xerostomia inventory (XI) score was used as an index of OD feeling severity. Unstimulated whole saliva cortisol concentration was measured by ELISA. Statistical analysis of student's t-test and Spearman correlation was used. Results: The mean cortisol concentration of saliva was significantly higher in women with OD feeling than the control. There was significant positive correlation between the XI score and the concentration of unstimulated whole saliva cortisol (r = 0.559, p = 0.025). Conclusions: Unstimulated whole saliva cortisol is higher in menopausal women with OD feeling than in controls and this correlates with the severity of OD.

The influence of hormone replacement therapy on the salivary flow of post-menopausal women

“…This fact is supported by clinical trials showing a reduction in salivary flow during menopause [8,16,18]. In addition to the quantitative change, case-control studies have shown changes in the concentrations of substances in the saliva of women in menopause and xerostomia [5,[19][20][21][22]. However, the exclusive development of xerostomia in older people is still a matter of debate.…”

“…Xerostomia is the subjective feeling of dryness in the mouth as a result of the reduction or interruption of the salivary gland function accompanied by changes in quantity or quality of saliva [4,5]. The diagnosis of xerostomia and/or reduced salivary flow is basically made in a clinical way and should take into account the various medications that can cause or exacerbate the condition [6].…”

Serum and Stimulated Saliva C-reactive Protein Changes in Altitude Chamber

“…Several evidence has been proven and suggested using saliva tests to diagnose, monitor, and predict disease prognosis. It has been indicated that numerous biochemical molecules can be assayed in saliva of patients, for example, cortisol (15), progesterone (16), 17β-estradiol (17), CA15-3 (18), CA125 (19), creatine kinase MB (8), creatine phosphokinase (20), parathyroid hormone (21), cathepsin (22), hc-CRP (23), and aminotransaminase (24). Much attention has been paid to saliva as a biological sample because of the rapid, uncomplicated and non-invasive nature of the sample.…”

The relationship between salivary levels of cortisol, chromogranin A (CgA) and xerostomia in post-menopausal women

“…The subjects used for this study were females in the postmenopause period, age of 45e55 years, cessation of menstruation for at least 12 continuous months and with or without a complain of xerostomia. Patient having any of the following are not involved in the current study: To diagnose xerostomia, a questionnaire was applied to the patients to be answered by yes or no illustrating presence of xerostomia [35,36] (Table 1).…”