Saliva in perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women. A 2-year follow-up study

Abstract

This study aims to investigate salivary flow and biochemical constituents of menopausal-age women with the hypothesis that women using hormone therapy (HT) might present better saliva values than non-users. Two hundred HT users and 200 non-users were selected at random from a cohort study of 3,173 peri- and postmenopausal women and invited to a 2-year clinical follow-up study. Clinical examination with saliva sampling was made at baseline and 2 years later. Salivary total protein, albumin, and immunoglobulin (Ig) concentrations were analyzed. Final material included 106 consistent HT users and 55 non-users. Backward logistic regression analysis was made to determine the risk factors for higher or lower than medium salivary protein values. No difference was seen in salivary flow rate, total protein, and IgA values between baseline and follow-up measurements or between the groups. Albumin, IgG, and IgM concentrations were significantly lower in the 2-year samples of the HT group when compared with baseline. IgA and IgM values were higher in the non-HT 2-year samples when compared with the corresponding HT samples. The only significant explanatory factor for higher than median salivary albumin concentration was the number of teeth both at baseline and 2 years later. HT possibly improved epithelial integrity since the concentrations of serum components albumin, IgG, and IgM decreased during the follow-up. HT as such does not seem to affect saliva, although it may modify it. The clinical relevance of these results needs to be assessed in future studies.

The influence of hormone replacement therapy on the salivary flow of post-menopausal women

“…However, no differences were observed, in this study, on saliva production between women receiving HRT and those not receiving it, similarly to results found on a longitudinal cohort study that investigated salivary flow and biochemical variables in perimenopausal and early post-menopausal women submitted or not to HRT [25]. One possible explanation for that fact might be the low amount of saliva produced by the salivary glands of the oral and pharyngeal mucosa.…”

“…HRT has been reported to cause changes in the oral mucosa, possibly improving epithelial integrity [24,25]. However, no differences were observed, in this study, on saliva production between women receiving HRT and those not receiving it, similarly to results found on a longitudinal cohort study that investigated salivary flow and biochemical variables in perimenopausal and early post-menopausal women submitted or not to HRT [25].…”

Female sex as an independent prognostic factor in the development of oral mucositis during autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation

“…In future studies, the effects of hormonal changes on the oral epithelium, periodontium, oral microbiome, the composition of Oral epithelium. The adverse effect of decreased serum estrogen on the mucosa is well known: the oral epithelium becomes thin and atrophic, accompanied by a deterioration of mucosal integrity and immunity 27 , whereas estrogen supplementation and HRT improves mucosal integrity [28][29][30] . The oral mucosa also responds to progesterone 31 , high levels being detrimental, especially in immuno-compromised patients [32][33][34] .…”

Regulatory effect of 17β‐estradiol on the expression of β‐defensin‐2 and proinflammatory cytokines in human oral epithelial cells

“…Estrogen plays a crucial role in immune regulation of hOMECs. Clinical studies have found that post‐menopausal women who have lower levels of estrogen are more susceptible to oral mucosal inflammatory disease, such as OLP 10,12‐14 . However, there is little information about the role and effects of estrogen on this.…”