Evaluation of Salivary Lipid Profile in Tobacco Chewers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Traditionally, blood has always been used to diagnose most of the diseases and conditions due to limitations in technology. Salivary diagnostics has been preferred lately as the salivary constituents become effectively altered in response to certain disease states. Lipids form one of the important components that maintain cell integrity. Most of the authors have proposed that changes in lipid profiles are associated with malignancies. Till date, most of the studies have been conducted on the serum lipid profile in smokers, tobacco chewers, in patients with oral premalignant disorders and malignant lesions. So, in the present study, saliva was used to evaluate the alterations in salivary lipid profile in tobacco chewers. Thus, saliva may provide a cost effective approach for the screening of large populations. Aim: To assess and compare the salivary lipid profile in the tobaco chewers and the controls. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 15 tobacco chewers and 15 controls from May to July 2019. The parameters assessed include salivary analysis of Total Cholesterol (TC), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) and Triglycerides (TG). Student’s unpaired t-test was used for comparing difference between means for salivary lipid levels in tobacco chewers and controls. Results: The mean±standard deviation in tobacco chewers for salivary TC, TG, HDL, VLDL, and LDL were 15.37±4.82, 5.2±2.66, 3.35±1.43, 1.04±0.53, 10.97±4.28 (mg/dL), respectively. Salivary lipid profile was higher in tobacco chewers groups when compared to healthy subjects and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: Thus, saliva can be used as a simple and costeffective diagnostic tool for asssesing changes in lipid profile in tobacco chewers.

Keywords

• nicotine
• oral cancer
• oral potentially malignant disorders
• saliva