Abstract
Several pathologies of the oral cavity have been associated with stress, so we investigated salivary-induced aggregation during psychological stress. In addition, salivary total protein, alpha-amylase, and secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) were assessed. In this longitudinal study, 28 dental students provided unstimulated whole saliva during 10 minutes before an academic examination and subsequently 2 weeks and 6 weeks later in a nonstress situation. The effect of whole saliva on the aggregation of Streptococcus gordonii (HG 222) was determined spectrophotometrically. The results shows a significant stress-mediated increase of salivary total protein concentration, alpha-amylase activity, amylase/protein ratio, alpha-amylase output, s-IgA concentration, and s-IgA output. There was also a trend for increased total protein output, whereas salivary flow rate was unchanged. The aggregation of S. gordonii in whole saliva collected before examination was 13.1%, whereas the aggregation in whole saliva collected during nonstress was 23.3%. This reduction was statistically significant (p < .01). Furthermore, the decrease in bacterial aggregation was related to the increase in state-anxiety (p < .05). The reduction in aggregation of S. gordonii under stress was not correlated with changes in salivary flow rate, s-IgA concentration, total protein concentration, or alpha-amylase activity. These results suggest that acute psychological stress exerts its influence on both salivary composition and salivary function. Reduced bacterial aggregation may be a contributing factor in the often reported relationship between stress and impaired oral health.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 374-82 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Psychosomatic medicine |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1996 |
Keywords
- Adult
- Amylases/metabolism
- Arousal/physiology
- Female
- Humans
- Immune Tolerance/immunology
- Immunoglobulin A, Secretory/metabolism
- Male
- Reference Values
- Risk Factors
- Saliva/immunology
- Salivary Proteins and Peptides/metabolism
- Streptococcus/immunology
- Stress, Psychological/complications