Unstimulated whole saliva 25-hydroxycholecalciferol in patients with xerostomia in menopausal women.

BACKGROUND AND AIM The aim of this study was to compare unstimulated whole saliva 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D) in menopausal women with and without oral dryness (OD) feeling, and evaluate the relationship between saliva 25(OH)D and severity of OD feeling. METHODS A case-control study was carried out on 70 selected menopausal women aged 41-77 years with or without OD feeling (35 as case and 35 as control) conducted at the Clinic of Oral Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Unstimulated saliva samples were obtained by expectoration. Xerostomia inventory (XI) score was used as an index of OD feeling severity. The saliva 25(OH)D concentration was measured by ELISA. Statistical analysis of Student's t test and Spearman correlation was used. RESULTS The mean saliva 25(OH)D level was significantly higher in the case group (897.1 ± 128.9 pg/ml), compared with control (156.7 ± 43.4 pg/ml; P < 0.05). XI score correlated significantly with saliva 25(OH)D concentration (r = 0.457, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS It seems that the level of salivary 25(OH)D concentration may be higher in menopausal women with OD feeling than in the control group, and there is a positive correlation between OD feeling severity and unstimulated whole saliva 25(OH)D.