Open AccessAnxiety and Salivary Level of Alpha-Amylase in Patients with Geographic Tongue: A Case Control Study
Author(s) -
Atefeh Tavangar,
Zahra Saberi,
Maryam Rahimi,
Fahimeh Pakravan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the open dentistry journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 25
ISSN - 1874-2106
DOI - 10.2174/1874210601913010209
Subject(s) - tongue , saliva , medicine , anxiety , etiology , trait , alpha amylase , amylase , dentistry , pathology , biology , psychiatry , biochemistry , enzyme , computer science , programming language
Background: Geographic tongue is a common benign condition involving the tongue with an unknown etiology. Objective: This study aimed to measure the salivary level of alpha-amylase as well as the level of anxiety of patients with geographic tongue. Methods: This case-control study was performed on 180 subjects including 89 patients with geographic tongue and 91 controls. The subjects were requested to fill out the Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S, STAI-T). Unstimulated saliva samples were collected by the spitting method to assess the salivary level of alpha-amylase. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23, t-test and Pearson’s test (α=0.05). Results: The mean salivary level of alpha-amylase and the mean scores of state and trait anxiety in geographic tongue patients were higher than those of healthy controls. But these differences did not reach statistical significance ( P >0.05). Conclusion: Anxiety may be an influential factor in the occurrence of geographic tongue. Salivary level of alpha-amylase cannot serve as a specific biomarker for assessment of geographic tongue.