Salivary Hormones and Quality of Life in Female Postmenopausal Burning Mouth Patients-A Pilot Case-Control Study.

Božana Lončar-Brzak,Ivana Škrinjar,Dragana Gabrić,Ivana Todorić-Laidlaw,Ana Andabak-Rogulj,Valentina Vidranski,Danica Vidović-Juras

doi:10.3390/dj8040111

Abstract

The objective of our study was to investigate salivary levels of estradiol, progesterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and quality of life, in female postmenopausal women with burning mouth syndrome. The study included new patients diagnosed with burning mouth syndrome and excluded local and systemic causes. Unstimulated saliva samples were taken in the morning from 9 AM and 11 AM and immediately frozen for hormone analysis. The patients filled out a self-perceived quality of life questionnaire Oral Health Impact Profile-14 and determined the intensity of mucosal symptoms according to the visual-analog scale grading 0 to 10. A total of 40 patients were included. The study group had significantly lower levels of salivary estradiol. No difference was observed in levels of progesterone and DHEA between the groups. The levels of salivary hormones did not exhibit a significant correlation according to the Spearman correlation test with a self-perceived quality of life questionnaire (OHIP-14) in the study group or in the control group. Further research on a larger number of patients is needed to verify these results. This information might help to enable more precise and efficient treatment.

Highlights

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is an unpleasant condition described as painful or burning sensations of clinically unchanged oral mucosa
Each participant signed informed consent according to the Declaration of Helsinki. This was a case-control pilot study that included a total of 40 patients: 28 female postmenopausal patients newly diagnosed with burning mouth syndrome and excluded local and systemic causes [2], and control group of 12 postmenopausal women without burning symptoms
There were no differences in salivary levels of progesterone (Table 2) and DHEA (Table 3) between the groups

Summary

Introduction

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is an unpleasant condition described as painful or burning sensations of clinically unchanged oral mucosa. The intensity of symptoms oscillates throughout the day [1,2], and they are often accompanied by mouth dryness and taste disturbance [3,4]. It is necessary to exclude local and systemic potential causes to establish the diagnosis [1,2]. The literature offers non-unique criteria for diagnosis without a definitive test, so establishing the diagnosis and determining treatment is challenging for clinicians. BMS has been considered an idiopathic disorder. Various results from the literature point to a complex correlation with the psychological profiles of the patients, stressful events, and local and systemic causes [2,3,4]

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