Urine Cortisol Levels in Children Before Dentistry Consultation to Measure the Presence of Anxiety: A Cross Sectional Study

ABSTRACT

Objective: To assess and compare cortisol levels in urine before dentistry consultation in children with signs of anxiety and without it. Material and Methods: Participation of 36 children (18 boys and 18 girls) aged 3 - 10 years. They were divided into two groups patients with anxiety and patients previously adapted to the visit according to the Hamilton Anxiety Scale. A urine sample was taken from each patient 10 minutes before the dentistry consultation. The samples were preserved in cold and were then analyzed by chemiluminescence to determine cortisol serum levels. The data were analyzed by using Mann-Whitney U test, with SPSS software. A 5% confidence level was used, taking p<0.05 values as statistically significant. Results: 18 patients (50%) were classified as anxious patients and 18 (50%) as no anxious. Urine mean cortisol levels in anxious patients were 16.55 ± 8.47 mcg/dL and 3.88 ± 2.08 mcg/dL, in children without stress signs. Statistical significance was observed when both groups were compared (p≤0.0001). Cortisol levels were higher in girls with signs of anxiety (19.74 ± 9.16 mcg/dL) versus boys under the same condition (13.37 ± 6.75 mcg/dL). With regard to the levels of cortisol according to the age group, the results were 13.28 ± 5.24 mcg/dl in the first group (3 to 5 years old), 14.67 ± 7.23 mcg/dl in the second (6 to 8 years old) and 30.13 ± 5.78 mcg/dl in the third (9 and 10 years old) in anxious patients. Conclusion: High serum cortisol levels are directly related with anxiety and stress signs in children before dentistry consultation.