Saliva Iron Levels to Assess Iron Status in Children

Rostika Flora; Mohammad Zulkarnain; Nur Alam Fajar; Indah Yuliana; Risnawati Tanjung; Helfi Nolia; Sulaiman Sulaiman; Aguscik Aguscik

doi:10.3889/oamjms.2021.6770

Authors

Rostika Flora Department of Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, Sriwijaya University, Palembang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2904-0407
Mohammad Zulkarnain Department of Public Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, Sriwijaya University, Palembang, Indonesia
Nur Alam Fajar Department of Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, Sriwijaya University, Palembang, Indonesia
Indah Yuliana Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, Sriwijaya University, Palembang, Indonesia
Risnawati Tanjung Department of Environmental Health, Polytechnic of Health of the Ministry of Health, Medan, Indonesia
Helfi Nolia Department of Environmental Health, Polytechnic of Health of the Ministry of Health, Medan, Indonesia
Sulaiman Sulaiman Department of Nursery, Polytechnic of Health of the Ministry of Health, Palembang, Indonesia
Aguscik Aguscik Department of Nursery, Polytechnic of Health of the Ministry of Health, Palembang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2021.6770

Keywords:

Iron deficiency, Non-invasive diagnostic test, Saliva

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Iron plays an essential role in the process of neurotransmitter synthesis and neuron myelination. Iron deficiency impacts low cognitive performance, even involved in long-term effects even though iron deficiency has been overcome. Given the impact caused by iron deficiency, it is necessary to monitor the status of iron in the body. Diagnostic tests carried out so far use blood specimens taken with invasive method. This creates fear for the child because of the pain it causes.

AIM: This study aims to obtain a non-invasive alternative diagnostic test in detecting iron deficiency in children using saliva as an examination specimen.

METHODS: The design of this study was case control, with a sample of elementary school children aged 9–12 years and for women who had not experienced menstruation. The sample consisted of 40 people who were taken randomly and grouped into iron deficiency and normal. Determine the group of iron deficiency and normal was based on the results of an examination of serum iron levels. Next, saliva samples were taken to determine saliva iron levels. The characteristics of the sample data were obtained through a questionnaire, while the measurement of serum iron levels was carried out by the spectrophotometric method, and the measurement of saliva iron levels was carried out by the ELISA method. Data were analyzed using Spearman’s test.

RESULTS: Based on serum iron measurements, it was found that the mean serum iron levels in children with iron deficiency were lower than normal children (38.153 ± 8.99 q/dL vs. 79.198 ± 14.2219 q/dL), on the contrary, on examination of iron levels, it was found that in children with iron deficiency, saliva iron levels were higher than in normal children (5.745 ± 3.04 q/dL vs. 2,576 ± 1.43 q/dL). The correlation test results showed a significant negative correlation between serum iron levels and moderate iron levels (p = 0.000, r = –0.518).

CONCLUSION: Saliva iron levels can be used as an alternative non-invasive diagnostic test to assess children’s iron status.

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