Saliva as a Non-invasive Tool in Evaluation of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder and a leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally with an estimated prevalence of 70 million by 2025. Materials and Methods: In total, 75 persons were included in this study. They were divided into 3 groups, each group consisting of 25 persons. Cases were selected from both the sexes and of age 40-70 years. Group I: Non-diabetes persons (controls), Group II: Controlled diabetes, Group III: Uncontrolled diabetes. All individuals were subjected to collection of blood and saliva for estimation of Glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting glucose, electrolytes, salivary pH and flow rate. Results: In this study, fasting serum glucose and salivary glucose levels are comparable to other studies and shows statistical significance (P = 0.005), and hence, it can be utilized to evaluate glucose levels in diabetics. Regarding electrolytes, salivary calcium was decreased in uncontrolled diabetes (Group III) when compared to non-diabetics and controlled diabetics, whereas sodium and potassium showed no significant difference. Salivary pH and flow rate did not show any significant difference between the groups, whereas body mass index, waist circumference shows a statistically significant increase in uncontrolled diabetes. Conclusion: This study gives evidence that saliva can be utilized as a non-invasive tool for evaluation of glucose in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. In this study even though salivary calcium is significantly lower in uncontrolled diabetes, this cannot be taken as a marker for uncontrolled diabetes since this could be due to other confounding factors.