Comparing Salivary Rate Between HIV Patients and Healthy Controls

Normal amount of saliva is necessary for prevention of oral lesions, caries, and proper speech. The purpose of this research was to study the salivary flow rate in HIV-1 seropositive attending Tehran Imam Khomeini Hospital. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 50 individuals including 25 HIV-1 seropositive patients (case group) and 25 healthy people (control group) attending the Counseling Center for Behavioral Diseases in Tehran Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran. The saliva rate was measured during 10 min. The case and control groups were matched in terms of age, gender, history of smoking, and other drugs (p< 0.9). People with history of drug abuse, alcohol, and systemic diseases were excluded from the study. Data analysis was done in SPSS. Salivary flow rate in controls and case group were 4.6±0.86 ml/min and 3.6±1.8 ml/min, respectively. In the case group, the salivary rate was significantly lower than that of the control group (p= 0.01). Moreover, significant associations were seen between salivary flow rate and educational level (p<0.05), anti-retroviral consumption (p=0.0004), and low CD4 count (p=0.0004). Salivary flow rate in HIV positive patients could be affected by HIV. So, clinicians should pay attention to oral problems more rigorously in people living with HIV.