RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Oral infections affect the general health and overlap with chronic diseases due to infectious-immune mechanisms. On the other side, sensory abnormalities may be symptoms of this association. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of oral infections, comorbidities, health parameters and sensory abnormalities in elderly patients. METHODS: Thirty (30) elderly with mean age 70.4 yo, distributed according to ages were evaluated with a protocol that included demographics, comorbidities, medications, laboratory tests, blood pressure, heart rate, mini-mental state examination, clinical oral evaluation and systematized sensory testing (gustative, olfactory, thermal, mechanical and pain thresholds). Data were tabled and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-three (76.6%) subjects had chronic diseases that increased according to the age. Seventeen (56.7%) elderly were having medication. Mean probing pocket depth was 1.90mm±0.39mm, mean clinical attachment level was 0.76mm±0.54mm and mean gingival bleeding index was 29.10%±29.05%. All periodontal indexes increased with age (p <0.05) and were associated with comorbidities and use of medication. Patients with chronic diseases had more numbness and pricking sensations (p=0.031; p=0.000). Main sensory findings were: abnormal gustative and vibratory thresholds, which were associated with hematological parameters (blood count, cholesterol levels and glycaemia). Periodontal parameters were associated with facial cold threshold (p=0.000). CONCLUSION: This study showed an association between systemic diseases, periodontal indexes and sensory thresholds. Sensory findings were associated with blood parameters and are potential tools for periodical health evaluation. Inflammatory or neural mechanisms need further investigation.
Assuntos
Doenças Periodontais/epidemiologia , Limiar Sensorial/fisiologia , Idoso , Glicemia , Comorbidade , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Hemorragia Gengival/epidemiologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Higiene Bucal , Doenças Periodontais/diagnóstico , Doenças Periodontais/etiologia , Índice Periodontal , PrevalênciaRESUMO
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) is a chronic painful condition with sensory, motor and affective dysfunctions. Few studies had investigated the trigeminal area, and little is known about its association with hemisensory syndrome, which is characterized by chronic pain restricted to hemibody. Our objective was to investigate sensorial abnormalities with quantitative sensory testing of patients with FS and patients with hemisensory syndrome, compared to controls. Thirteen patients diagnosed with FS according to the American College of Rheumatology, and 12 patients with hemisensory syndrome were evaluated and compared to 25 age-gender-matched controls. They were investigated with a quantitative sensory testing protocol including gustative, olfactory, cold, warm, touch, vibration, electric, deep and superficial pain thresholds and the corneal reflex evaluation. The patients had higher gustative thresholds for salty and bitter. In general, patients with FS had somatosensory thresholds higher than the controls; however, patients with hemisensory syndrome had only superficial pain thresholds increased, in both body sides and not only in the area affected by pain. Patients with hemisensory syndrome can be a subgroup of FS, different from nondermatomal somatosensory deficits which are characterized by chronic pain with hypoesthesia in hemibody. The bilateral hypoalgesia supports that pain pathways play a key role in this condition, with no compromise of other sensorial modalities.