The condition of the oral fluid in patients under conditions of long-term chronic stress

Abstract

Objective — to evaluate some qualitative and quantitative parameters of mixed saliva in patients at risk of metabolic‑associated diseases and military personnel under the conditions of the armed conflict in Ukraine.
 Materials and methods. The study involved patients who were included in three groups: the main group (27 individuals at risk of metabolic diseases), comparison group (19 military personnel) and control group (10 somatically healthy individuals). The survey has been performed with the use of questionnaire to assess dryness in the oral cavity, issues of changes in oral hygiene during the last year. To investigate some qualitative and quantitative parameters of unstimulated saliva, fasting oral fluid was collected in the morning. Salivation rate, oral fluid viscosity, and type of microcrystallization were studied using standard techniques.
 Results. Prevalence of persons, in whom the nature of nutrition and individual care of the oral cavity had changed, was established in all investigated groups. The study of the salivation rate revealed a significant decrease in salivation in patients of the main group and comparison groups vs the control group. The lowest secretion level was defined in patients with a risk of metabolic‑associated diseases, whose oral fluid viscosity had the highest values. The most favorable type I of crystallization prevailed only in patients of the control group, it was rare in the main group, whereas in the group of military personnel it was not found, and type II was defined in 26.3% of subjects. Negative changes in the normal life against the background of hostilities resulted in the deterioration in the physical indicators of salivation in both main and comparison groups.
 Conclusions. Long‑term chronic stress causes changes in the qualitative and quantitative composition of oral fluid. The study of microcrystallization of the mixed saliva can be used as a non‑invasive diagnostic method for detecting stress as one of the risk factors for premature aging in patients at risk of metabolic‑associated diseases.