Oral health awareness, practices and status of patients with diabetes attending a tertiary health institution in Nigeria

Background: Despite the reported increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, very few studies have documented report on oral health awareness and oral health conditions of individuals with diabetes mellitus from our environment. Thus this study aimed at assessing the oral health awareness, practices and status of individuals with diabetes mellitus attending a tertiary health facility in Nigeria.Methods: A cross sectional survey of 143 patients with diabetes attending the medical outpatients' clinic of the hospital. Information was obtained from participants using pretested structured questionnaires and oral examination. Tests of associations were determined using Chi-square and student t test.Results: One-fifth (20.3%) of the respondents were aware of good oral health preventing oral diseases in diabetes. Thirty-five (24.5%) knew that diabetes could worsen oral health condition and only 3 (2.1%) could correctly explain the association between diabetes and oral health conditions. Forty-three (30.1%) had participated in an oral health education program focused on diabetes and oral health. The majority (88.6%) had calculus accumulation while none had a healthy periodontium.Conclusion: Oral health awareness, practices and status of patients with diabetes were poor in our environment. Thus, these individuals need to be better informed of the relationship between oral health and diabetes.Keywords: Oral disease; diabetes; awareness; oral health educatio

Salivary Secretion and Composition in Malaria: A Case-control Study

Summary: No previous studies have documented changes in salivary secretion in patients with malaria. This study aimed to compare salivary secretion and composition in malaria positive and malaria negative individuals. Ninety participants composed of 40 malaria parasite positive and 50 malaria parasite negative individuals (age and gender matched) were included. Malaria diagnosis was achieved by microscopic examination of Giemsa stained thick and thin film of blood smears. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess presence or absence of oral symptoms in the malaria parasite positive individuals. Whole saliva samples were collected and analyzed for flow rate, pH, total protein and concentrations of electrolytes (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Cl-, PO42- and HCO32-). Data were analysed using Independent-Samples t-test and Spearman’s correlation test. The salivary flow rate was significantly reduced in malaria parasite positive individuals (P = 0.001). Oral symptoms were present in 82.5% of the malaria parasite positive individuals. There was no significant difference in the salivary pH, total protein and electrolyte ion concentrations between the two groups. Also, Spearman’s correlation test showed no significant relationship between the presence of oral symptom and the salivary parameters. Salivary flow rates are reduced in the individuals with malaria. However, presence of oral symptoms in these individuals may not be attributed to the reduced salivary flow rate. Further studies are needed to validate our findings and elucidate mechanisms involved.Keywords: Saliva, Malaria, Salivary flow rate, Salivary electrolytes, Salivary pH, Salivary total protein

Effects of acute exercise on salivary free insulin-like growth factor 1 and interleukin 10 in sportsmen.

Background: Saliva analysis is rapidly developing as a tool for the assessment of biomarkers of sports training. It remains poorly understood whether a short bout of sport training can alter some salivary immune biomarkers. Aim: To investigate the effect of acute exercise using football training session on salivary flow rate, salivary free Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) and Interleukin 10 (IL-10). Methods: Saliva samples were collected before and immediately after a football session. Salivary flow rates, salivary levels of free IGF-1 and IL-10 (using ELISA) were determined. Data was analyzed and compared using Related Samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank test (non-parametric test). Relationships between salivary flow rate and levels of free IGF-1 and IL-10 were determined using Spearman correlation test. Results: There were 22 male footballers with a mean age of 20.46 years. Salivary flow rate reduced significantly (p = 0.01) after the training session while salivary levels of free IGF-1 and IL-10 did not show any significant change. Also, there were no correlations between salivary flow rates and salivary levels of free IGF-1 and IL-10 before and after exercise. Conclusion: These findings suggest that acute exercise caused significant reduction in salivary flow rate but no change in the levels of salivary free IGF-1 and IL-10

Analysis of serum and salivary immunoglobulin M in patients with orofacial epithelial cancers

Context: The physiological changes in the humoral immune system of patients with orofacial epithelial cancers (OECs) are considered key factors in the pathogenesis, prognosis, and management of these individuals. Aim: This study assessed the serum and salivary immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels in patients with OECs. Settings and Designs: This is a cross-sectional study of the serum and salivary IgM profile among patients with OEC and healthy controls. Materials and Methods: There were 78 subjects comprising 30 patients with untreated OEC, 18 patients with OEC receiving treatment and 30 healthy, age and gender matched individuals. The serum and salivary samples from the participants were analyzed for IgM using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay technique. Results: The mean value of serum IgM in OEC patients receiving treatment was significantly lower compared to untreated OEC patients and healthy controls (P = 0.01). However, the mean serum IgM among untreated OEC patients was not significantly different compared with healthy controls. In contrast, the salivary IgM level did not show any significant difference among the three groups (P = 0.06). Furthermore, there was no correlation between the serum and salivary levels of IgM among the subjects. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that serum IgM levels in OEC patients receiving treatment might be good biomarker while salivary IgM may not be reliable as a marker in these individuals

Salivary electrolytes, total protein and immunoglobulin a in patients with chronic kidney disease: A case control study

Summary: The objectives of this study were to compare levels salivary electrolytes, total protein and immunoglobulin A (IgA) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and healthy individuals; and to determine the relationship between the salivary and blood levels of these factors between the two groups. Ninety-eight participants consisting of 48 patients with CKD and 50 healthy individuals (age and gender matched) were included. Whole saliva and blood samples were collected and analyzed for concentrations of electrolytes (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Cl-, and HCO32-), total protein and IgA. Data were analyzed using Independent-Samples t-test and Pearson correlation test. Concentrations of salivary K+, Ca2+, Cl-, and total protein were higher; while concentrations of salivary Na+, HCO32- were lower in patients with CKD compared with healthy individuals. There was no difference in the salivary IgA levels in patients with CKD compared with healthy individuals. Salivary calcium level showed linear correlation with the plasma calcium level while salivary chloride level showed negative correlation with plasma chloride level among patients with CKD. These findings indicate that saliva and plasma from patients with CKD are characterized by higher potassium, chloride, and lower sodium concentrations than their levels in healthy individuals; thus, suggesting a possible increased adrenal-cortical activity in patients with CKD.Keywords: Saliva, electrolytes, total protein, correlation, chronic kidney diseaseNiger. J. Physiol. Sci. 33(December 2018) 177-18