Evaluation of salivary IL-8 and calcium levels in postmenopausal females with and without periodontitis-A comparative study

Menopause is a normal developmental stage in a woman's life marking the permanent cessation of menstruation. Calcium is predominant in intracellular signalling and its intracellular increase can affect the cell's proliferation, phagocytosis and cytokine secretion. IL-8 expression in various cells such as neutrophils and osteoblasts was reported to involve a calcium signalling pathway. Well-known functions of IL-8 includes help in angiogenesis, role in tumour progression, tissue remodelling, etc., Hence, the aim of this study was to establish the relationship between calcium-dependent IL-8 and periodontal disease in postmenopausal females. The study population included 52 postmenopausal women aged 45-57 years. The patients were divided into two groups in which group I included postmenopausal women without periodontitis and group II with periodontitis. Unstimulated salivary samples were collected from all the participants to evaluate IL-8 and calcium levels. There was a statistically significant difference in salivary IL-8 levels between the two groups (P < 0.001), but there was no statistical difference in salivary calcium levels between the two groups (P = 0.730). A weak negative correlation between salivary IL-8 and calcium was found in group I, while a weak positive correlation was found between the same in group II. Analysis of salivary IL-8 from the present study was in accordance with several previous studies. It can be concluded that saliva can also be used as a reliable oral diagnostic fluid for IL-8 and calcium detection in periodontitis.