Estimation of Salivary Tumour Necrosis Factor-α Levels in Post-menopausal Women with Chronic Periodontitis

Abstract

Introduction: Periodontitis and increased levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) are considered as key factors contributing to the bone loss observed in oestrogen deficient post-menopausal women. Aim: The present study aimed at assessing the levels of salivary TNF-α in pre- and post-menopausal women with chronic periodontitis and evaluating its potential as a biochemical marker of periodontal disease in post menopausal women. Materials and Methods: A total of 80 female subjects, within the age range of 35-55 years, were divided into 4 groups of 20 subjects each, pre- and post-menopausal women with chronic periodontitis and pre- and post-menopausal periodontally healthy controls. After assessment of clinical periodontal status, unstimulated whole saliva was collected and levels of TNF-α were examined using ELISA. One-way ANOVA, posthoc Tukey’s test, Student’s unpaired t-test and Karl Pearson’s co-efficient of correlation were used. SPSS version 17.0 and MedCalc version 10.2 were used to perform the data analyses. Results: The mean of salivary TNF-α levels in pre- and post-menopausal women with chronic periodontitis were 4.25±1.20 pg/mL and 5.13±1.35 pg/mL, respectively, whereas that in pre- and post-menopausal healthy controls were 2.05±1.11 pg/mL and 2.40±1.08 pg/mL, respectively. The levels of salivary TNF-α were significantly higher in the periodontitis groups than the controls and correlated positively with the assessed clinical parameters (p<0.001). Also the levels were significantly higher in post-menopausal women with chronic periodontitis than the pre-menopausal women with chronic periodontitis (p<0.05). Conclusion: Salivary levels of TNF-α were increased in both menopause and chronic periodontitis. This increased secretion of TNF-α could be implicated as a contributing factor in the progression of periodontal disease in post-menopausal women, suggesting that salivary TNF-α can act as a potential biomarker and a valuable adjunct for screening of periodontal disease in post-menopausal women.

Keywords

• menopause
• periodontitis
• salivary biomarker