ORAL COMPLAINTS RELATED TO MENOPAUSE

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to correlate oral and systemic symptoms of menopause and the oral health and salivary compo sition and flow rate in a group of women in menopause prior to hormone replacement therapy. Methods: One-hundred fifty-four women attending a menopause clinic were divided into two groups. Group A,58 women, wit hout any systemic disease or treatments, and Group B,96 women with dis eases and on various medications. They answered a questionnaire on the ir general health and oral and systemic complaints related to menopaus e. Fifty-four of the women agreed to have an oral examination and sali va analysis. Whole resting and submandibular (SM-SL) stimulated saliva were analyzed. Results: The oral discomfort complaint was found in 45 % in Group A and in 60% in Group B. 74% complained of climacteric symp toms in Group A and 63% in Group B. The odds ratio (OR) between oral d iscomfort and climacterics complaints of menopause was 8.03 in Group A and 4.08 in Group B. The salivary composition and flow rates did not differ significantly between the groups of menopausal women. However t he salivary total protein and IgA concentrations were significantly hi gher in comparison to healthy young controls. Conclusions: The present study reports a high prevalence of oral discomfort in the women atten ding a menopause clinic. A highly significant odds ratio between syste mic and oral complaints of menopause was found. The significantly alte red salivary composition in these women might point to sympathetic act ivation due to psychological stress.