Correlation of serum oestrogen with salivary calcium in post-menopausal women with and without oral dryness feeling

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to verify the association between salivary calcium and serum oestrogen levels with oral dryness in post-menopausal women. Also, the correlation between these variables was evaluated. Methods: A case-control study was carried out on 60 selected menopausal women with and without oral dryness feeling (30 as case and 30 as control) conducted in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Maharishi Markandeshar University, Mullana, India. Paraffin-stimulated saliva samples were obtained by expectoration. Salivary calcium concentrations were assessed colorimetrically using Arsenazo III reaction. The serum oestrogen concentration was measured using ELISA. Statistical analysis of Student's t-test and Pearson correlation was used. Results: There was significant difference in mean values of both salivary calcium concentration and serum oestrogen between case and control groups. The result obtained also showed that an inverse correlation was found between salivary calcium concentration and serum oestrogen levels in both the groups and in total sample size. Conclusion: Oral dryness in post-menopausal women is associated with high levels of salivary calcium and low levels of serum oestrogen. The concentrations of salivary calcium and serum oestrogen are inversely correlated in post-menopausal women, regardless of the presence or absence of oral dryness. © 2011 The Gerodontology Society and John Wiley & Sons A/S.