Salivary biomarkers in patients with psoriasis – a meta-analysis

Introduction
Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory cutaneous disease with an unclear aetiology. Several biomarkers have been investigated for their significance in clinical practice. Objective. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the salivary biomarkers in psoriatic patients compared to controls.

Material and methods
The PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from the beginning of each database. The mean differences (MDs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in all studies were analysed using Review Manager 5.3 software.

Results
Fourteen studies were analysed in the meta-analysis. Investigating salivary α-amylase, cortisol, IgA, interleukin-1b, candida incidence, antipyrine clearance, sodium, potassium, chloride, and flow rate levels, there was a significant difference between psoriatic patients and controls in α-amylase (MD = 12.69 IU/ml), interleukin-1b (MD = 1.60 pg/ml), and candida incidence (OR = 7.64), respectively. Some salivary biomarkers such as α-amylase, interleukin-1b, and candida incidence were significantly higher in the patients with psoriasis than in the controls.

Conclusions
The results indicate that saliva analysis is a valid noninvasive tool which may be used to monitor inflammation in psoriasis.