Relationship of stimulated saliva 17beta-estradiol and oral dryness feeling in menopause.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare stimulated whole saliva 17beta-estradiol of menopausal women with/without oral dryness (OD) feeling, and evaluate the relationship between saliva 17beta-estradiol and severity of OD feeling. METHODS A case-control study was carried out in 76 selected menopausal women aged 41-77 years with or without OD feeling (38 as case and 38 as control) conducted at the Clinic of Oral Medicine, Tehran university of medical sciences. Paraffin-stimulated saliva samples were obtained by expectoration. Xerostomia inventory (XI) score was used as an index of OD feeling severity. The saliva 17beta-estradiol concentration was measured by ELISA. Statistical analysis of Student's t-test and Spearman correlation was used. RESULTS No significant difference was found in stimulated whole saliva flow rate between the two groups, but the mean concentration and output of saliva 17beta-estradiol were significantly lower in case than control. There was significant negative correlation between XI score and stimulated whole saliva concentration (r=-0.391, P=0.004) and output (r=-0.302, P=0.002) of 17beta-estradiol in menopausal women. CONCLUSIONS It seems that there is a negative correlation between OD feeling severity and stimulated whole saliva 17beta-estradiol in menopausal women.