Quantitative Comparison of Un-Stimulated Whole Saliva Flow Rate Among Menopausal Women and Same Aged Men

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Menopause can be associated with psycho-somatic changes in oro-facial areas like xerostomia and Burning Mouth Syndrome, although these findings are controversial. The present study sought to compare the Un-stimulated Whole Saliva (UWS) flow rate of a group including menopausal & postmenopausal women and same-aged men. Methods: In this cross-sectional analytic-descriptive study 40 menopausal & post-menopausal women (as experimental-group) and 40 same-aged men (as control group) without any systemic diseases and any drug consumption were divided into 2 groups, xerostomia was evaluated by a questionnaire, and their psychological conditions were assessed with HAD scale. UWS flow rate was measured by the spitting method. Data were analyzed by chi-square, Krusscal Walis and Mann-Whitney tests. Results: Mean of UWS flow rates in experimental group was significantly less than that in control group (P=0.006); no significant difference was found between the two groups regarding psychological condition. Also, menopausal women had significantly greater xerostomia than men (45% vs 15%) (P=0.003). Conclusion: Based on this study, xerostomia and reduction in UWS flow rate are sequences of menopause, these findings necessitate the increasing awareness of menopausal & postmenopausal women for controlling the methods of these problems.

Keywords

• menopause
• xerostomia
• saliva