Serum progesterone level in menopausal women with oral dryness Dr. Agha-Hosseini F .,1 Dr. Mirzaii-Dizgah I .2 1 Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Tehran University / Medical Sciences. Tehran, Iran. 2 Assistant professor, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences. Tehran , Iran . (Received 23 Dec, 2009 Accepted 21 April, 2010) Abstract Background and Aim : Dry mouth is a major complaint of many elderly individuals especially those who are in the menopausal period. Although the exact mechanisms that mediate xerostomia have not been firmly established, sex steroid hormones appear to play a considerable role in the physiology of the human oral cavity. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum progesterone level in menopausal women with oral dryness feeling. Materials and Methods : A case-control study was carried out on 70 selected menopausal women aged 42–78 years with or without dry mouth (35 case and 35 controls) conducted at the Oral Medicine Clinic of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Serum concentration of progesterone was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis using Spearman and Student’s unpaired t-tests were used. Results : The mean concentration of serum progesterone was significantly lower among the cases (30±10 pg/ml) than in control group (171±70 pg/ml, P=0.026). There was a negative correlation between serum progesterone concentration and severity of oral dryness feeling (r = -0.295 P< 0.05). Conclusion : The results showed that subjects with dry mouth had decreased serum level of progesterone compared with those without dry mouth, which suggests an association of progesterone with symptoms of oral dryness. Key words : Menopause - Mouth Dryness – Progesterone – Serum. Corresponding Author : Dr. Agha-Hosseini F ., Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Tehran University / Medical Sciences. Tehran, Iran . e.mail: aghahose@sina.tums.ac.ir |
