Publication:

Correlation between salivary glucose and blood glucose levels in diabetic and non-diabetic individuals

Background The aim of this study was to determine as well as to compare the salivary glucose levels in the diabetic and non-diabetic population and correlate the values with their fasting blood glucose and HbA1c (glycated Haemoglobin) levels. Many researchers have proposed the possibility of using salivary glucose estimation for screening and monitoring of effect in general population and in resource poor settings. But studies on this subject in Indian population are limited.

Methods The current study was an analytical cross sectional study of a group of 100 diabetic patients and 100 healthy controls, conducted in the Department of General Medicine, SRM medical college hospital. The mean difference in the salivary glucose between diabetic and non-diabetic population was compared using unpaired t-test.

Results There was a strong positive association between FBS (fasting blood sugar) and salivary glucose in the overall population. There was a strong positive correlation between FBS and Salivary glucose in FBS 300 mg/dl, which was statistically not significant. There was a strong positive correlation between HbA1c and salivary glucose in the overall population.

Conclusions There appears to be a strong positive association between fasting blood sugar and salivary glucose value in both study groups. But the correlation seems to be relatively weak in fasting blood sugar range above 300 mg/dl. Considering this positive association, further studies are needed to explore the possibility of utilizing salivary glucose for monitoring glycemic control.