Saliva as a Diagnostic Biomarker in Postmenopausal Women: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Abstract Background: The main health problems faced by postmenopausal women include osteoporosis, vasomotor symptoms, cardiovascular diseases, urogenital atrophy, cancer, psychiatric symptoms, and cognitive problems. These manifestations can lead to postmenopausal syndrome, and the management of these manifestations has become a prime area of investigation in recent times. Aim: The aim of this systematic review is to critically analyze the literature to identify the salivary markers that can be used to diagnose diseases in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: Articles related to saliva as a diagnostic tool in postmenopausal women were collected in databases like PubMed and Google Scholar. Keywords used in this systematic review are saliva, diagnosis, postmenopausal women and disease. Articles included were based on the PRISMA guidelines. Results: A total of 692 articles were screened, out of which 674 articles were excluded as they failed to meet the expected criteria. Eighteen articles were selected based on title and abstract. After excluding all the articles which did not meet the criteria, totally 12 articles were included for review. Conclusion: The efficacy of salivary calcium levels to detect early bone changes in postmenopausal women has been studied the most in the literature. Studies with larger sample size are needed for saliva used as a substitute to serum calcium to diagnose osteoporosis. More studies are needed to analyze the significance of salivary alkaline phosphatase, parathormone, cortisol, salivary c-terminal of type I collagen, osteocalcin, and osteopontin in postmenopausal women.