Evaluation of Salivary Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase Levels in Patients with Geographic Tongue

Abstract

Introduction: Geographic tongue is the inflammation of the dorsal surface of the tongue with no definite etiology. In this study, salivary levels of cortisol and α-amylase in participants were measured to investigate the correlation of stress-related biomarkers with the occurrence of geographic tongue.Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, unstimulated saliva samples of 90 participants (45 patients with geographic tongue and 45 control subjects) were collected, and the level of cortisol and alpha-amylase were measured, subsequently. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 20) through Student’s t-test. A p-value less than 0.05 (P˂0.05) was considered statistically significant.Results: Salivary alpha-amylase level was obtained at 116.7±8.2 (u/ml) and 114.6±8.7 (u/ml) in patients with geographic tongue and the control group, respectively, indicating no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.8). Moreover, the level of salivary cortisol was obtained at 4.8±2.3 (ng/ml) and 6.9±3.4 (ng/ml) in the groups of control and case, respectively, which indicated a remarkable increase in the case group (P=0.001).Conclusion: Although the level of salivary cortisol was higher in patients with geographic tongue, no significant relationship was observed between the risk of geographic tongue and alpha-amylase level. However, the evaluation of the correlation between geographic tongue and stress requires more clinical and para-clinical examinations.

Keywords

• alpha-amylase
• cortisol
• geographic tongue
• saliva
• stress