Abstract

VASAGHI-GHARAMALEKI, Behnoosh; MIRZAII-DIZGAH, Iraj  and  ARANI-KASHANI, Zohreh. Salivary cortisol level and severity of xerostomia in patients who stutter. S. Afr. dent. j. [online]. 2016, vol.71, n.4, pp.162-165. ISSN 0375-1562.

BACKGROUND: Stuttering is associated with high levels of anxiety. Salivary cortisol is used as a biomarker to assess stress level. Dry mouth is one of the symptoms of anxiety. The aim of this study was to evaluate salivary cortisol levels and severity of xerostomia in men with and without stuttering. METHODS: In a case-control study, 19 patients with stuttering (PWS) and 19 control individuals were recruited to the investigation. The xerostomia inventory (XI) score was used as an index of the severity of xerostomia. The salivary cortisol concentration was measured by an enzyme immunoassay kit (ELISA). Student's t-test was used in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: The mean unstimulated saliva flow rate was lower (P=0.045), and the mean unstimulated saliva concentration of cortisol (P=0.017) and XI score (P= 0.044) were significantly higher in the PWS than in control individuals. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that saliva levels of cortisol and severity of xerostomia are high in stutterers and these patients suffer xerostomia.

Keywords : Cortisol; Saliva; Xerostomia; Stutter.

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