Serum progesterone level in menopamal women with oral dryness

ABSTRACT

Dry mouth is a major complaint of many elderly individuals especially those who are in menopause period. Although the exact mechanisms that mediate xefastomia 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. 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. The mean concentration of serum progesterone was significantly lower in 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]. 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