Background: Various salivary cytokines are overexpressed in the saliva of Sjögren’s syndrome (SjS) patients. In addition, the levels of salivary cytokines can differ according to local and systemic conditions, besides SjS itself.
Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the associations and correlations of caries experience, sialometry, and systemic co-morbidities with levels of the following salivary cytokines: Interleukin (IL): IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α and IL-17A among SjS patients.
Methods: Upon ethical approval and signed informed consent, 20 women with SjS were recruited. Clinical examinations included Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index measurements, sialometry, and saliva sampling. Levels of salivary cytokines: IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, and IL-17A were measured by Enzyme- Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was performed using the Independent-Samples Mann-Whitney U Test for the associations between the categorial parameters, and Spearman's correlation test to analyze the correlations between continuous variables.
Results: We report that Salivary cytokines are inter-correlated in a statistically significant manner (p<0.05). Age is correlated with IL-17A levels (p<0.05), and decayed teeth were cor-related with IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 (p<0.05). The liquid fraction in the unstimulated salivary flow rate significantly correlates with all salivary cytokines that were measured. Cardiac disease is correlated with IL-10 levels, and Rheumatoid Arthritis is correlated with IL-1β levels (p<0.05).
Conclusions: These results suggest that local factors such as caries experience and salivary flow rates as well as systemic factors such as co-morbidities should be taken into consideration when testing the levels of salivary cytokines in SjS.