Evaluation of salivary α-amylase enzyme activity in smoker and peptic ulcer patients affected by periodontitis in relation to clinical periodontal parameters

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the activity of salivary α-amylase (SA) in subject affected by periodontitis alone or associated with peptic ulcer disease (PUD) with or without smoking. Methods: The study population was divided into control group (C), study groups; periodontitis (G1), periodontitis+ PUD+ smokers (G2), periodontitis+ PUD+ nonsmoker (G3). The clinical periodontal parameters including plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded. In addition, unstimulated whole saliva was collected from these patients for analysis of SA level. Results: Analysis showed that PI and GI showed significant difference among study groups versus controls. G2 exhibited significantly higher PPD and CAL as compared with G1 but not with G3. For SA activity, G2 and G3 showed significantly higher activity as compared with C and G1 groups. Yet, no significant difference was seen between C and G1 and between G2 and G3. Activity of SA was positively and significantly (P< 0.05) correlated with increasing PPD in all study groups and with CAL measurements of G2 only. Conclusions: The results suggested that SA could be used as a marker for the diagnosis of PUD in subjects affected by periodontitis with or without smoking.