A study on comparison of salivary cortisol circadian rhythm in periodontal diseases with external stressors and clinical parameters

It is found that salivary cortisol values follow the same pattern as the serum cortisol. They are found to have high correlation with some parameters showing disturbances in HPA - axis. Cortisol levels rise due to circadian influences as well as perturbations in the organism's environment (i.e., stressors) that make it possible to detect. The following study was done to study the effect of HPA axis in the salivary cortisol and daily variation. It was also done to study the circadian rhythm of the hormone in patients with periodontal diseases and the correlation of salivary cortisol with loss of attachment in periodontium. The study was planned for a population with periodontitis and control subjects. All participants, aged 20-50 years, were examined at the clinics of Ajman University (Al-Fujairah). They were informed to provide three samples that were stored at 3-5 degrees and submitted next day. Samples were frozen at (- 20°c) and analyzed in COBAS e 411 by ECLIA (Electro-chemiluminescence) method. The highest mean value of salivary cortisol was 30 minutes after waking up for both groups, but was higher in the control group. BMI, S-OHI and HAM-A had the highest correlation in both groups. No correlations were found with periodontal loss of attachment and pocket depth. Cortisol gap showed a more positive trend in the periodontitis group. The circadian rhythm is established in salivary samples and follows the same pattern in serum. Cortisol gap can be used instead of cortisol awakening response as a diagnostic value in defining periodontal diseases and its severity.