SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH XEROSTOMIA, SALIVARY FLOW AND DENTAL CARIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25110/arqsaude.v30i3.2026-11994Keywords:
Cortisol, Dental Caries, Occupational Stress, Saliva, Worker Health, Xerostomia.Abstract
Occupational stress represents a significant cause of illness among nursing professionals. This study aims to investigate salivary cortisol levels in a hospital nursing team and assess their correlation with clinical oral conditions. This is a cross-sectional analytical epidemiological study conducted on 46 nursing professionals. Salivary cortisol collection was performed using a Salivette® kit, and analyses were conducted using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Unstimulated salivary flow was collected through sialometry, and xerostomia was assessed using the Xerostomia Inventory (SXI) questionnaire. Clinical examinations included the evaluation of dental caries using the DMFT index. In our sample, 54.35% of participants had normal cortisol levels, and 45.65% had low cortisol levels. Xerostomia was present in almost all participants (93.48%), and 82.61% had normal salivary flow. The DMFT index in the sample was 13.1, and the prevalence of periodontitis was 63.04%. A significant association was found between low cortisol levels and xerostomia. High-demand job tasks were found to have 23.9 times higher odds of presenting low cortisol levels. Additionally, xerostomic individuals showed a higher average in the index of decayed, missing, and filled teeth. No significant association was found between cortisol and salivary flow, dental caries or periodontal condition. The results suggest that low salivary cortisol levels may be related to chronic stress. Low cortisol levels were also associated with the presence of xerostomia, which was consequently related to higher rates of decayed, missing, and filled teeth. No association was found between cortisol levels and periodontal disease.
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