Assessment of salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone as oral biomarkers to assess stress in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent bouts of one or several shallow, rounded or ovoid, painful ulcers of oral mucosa that recur at intervals of a few days or up to 2–3 months and is of unknown etiology. The present study evaluated salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone as oral biomarkers to assess stress in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Materials & Methods: 84 patients of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) were randomly divided into 2 groups of 41 each. Group I were RAS patients and group II were healthy control subjects. In all salivary cortisol and DHEA levels were measured. Results: DHEA levels 48–61 pg/ml was seen in 44% in group I and 10% in group II, <48 pg/ml in 24% in group I and 86% in group II, >61 pg/ml was seen in 32% in group I and 4% in group II. Salivary cortisol level >3 ng/ml was seen in 83% in group I and 28% in group II and between 1.2–3 ng/mL in 15% in group I and 74% in group II. Conclusion: RAS patients exhibited higher salivary cortisol and DHEA levels as compared to the healthy controls.