The Study Of Personality, Pain And Serum Cortisol Of Burning Mouth Syndrome

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to analyze the common personality traits of patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS), quantify pain intensity in patients with BMS, measure the serum cortisol levels of the BMS group and the control group, and compare them, then to analyzed the relevance of three indexes, to describe the possible stress mechanism of BMS in terms of neuroendocrinology, so then to search for new ways to treat BMS.METHODS:36 patients with BMS and 32 cases of control group were investigated. The common personality traits of patients with BMS were analyzed with Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and their degrees of pain were quantified with visual analog scale (VAS), the serum cortisol levels were measured with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The data obtained were analyzed statistically in SPSS 18.0 for windows.RESULTS:BMS mainly occurred in the middle-aged or elderly women. The most frequently affected site is the tongue, in particular the tip. Dry mouth and dysgeusia were the two main local symptoms. Generally, BMS patients suffered moderate pain, with an average degree of 4.78. The BMS group got higher average score in neuroticism (N) dimensions, and lower average score significantly in extraversion (E) dimensions than the control group, but still in intermediate range of E dimensions; No statistical difference between the BMS group and the control group was found in psychoticism (P) and lie (L) dimension. The BMS group had significantly higher serum cortisol concentrations than the control group. The neuroticism score, pain intensity and serum cortisol concentration of BMS patients were positively correlated each other.CONCLUSION:1. There is a highly neurotic personality trait of BMS patients in common.2. BMS patients probably have relatively elevated serum cortisol levels.3. There is some relevance between personality traits, serum cortisol levels and pain intensity.4. BMS may be associated with the imbalance of neuroendocrine system caused by stress.5. Through a variety of receptors or ion channels, making the HPA axis response and the level of synthesis or function of neuroactive steroids be balanced in patients with BMS, or affecting the dopamine system or others through the use of drugs or the surgical operations, may open up new avenues of treatment for BMS.