Effect of Duration of Mobile Phone Use on the Salivary Flow and Total Antioxidant Capacity of Saliva and Salivary Immunoglobulin A Level: A Cross-sectional Study

Divyansh Bansal; Yogesh Chhaparwal; Keerthilatha M Pai; Mathangi Kumar; Ravindranath Vineetha; Shubha Chhaparwal; Shobha Kamath; Asha Kamath

doi:10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_361_21

Effect of Duration of Mobile Phone Use on the Salivary Flow and Total Antioxidant Capacity of Saliva and Salivary Immunoglobulin A Level: A Cross-sectional Study

J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2022 Apr 8;12(2):260-265. doi: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_361_21. eCollection 2022 Mar-Apr.

Authors

Divyansh Bansal¹, Yogesh Chhaparwal¹, Keerthilatha M Pai¹, Mathangi Kumar¹, Ravindranath Vineetha¹, Shubha Chhaparwal², Shobha Kamath³, Asha Kamath⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, India.
² Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, India.
³ Department of Biochemistry, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India.
⁴ Department of Data Science, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India.

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of this study was to observe the effects of the duration of handheld mobile phone usage on the salivary flow, salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) level, and salivary markers for oxidative stress.

Materials and methods: Eighty-one students were categorized into three groups based on their duration of mobile phone usage after age- and gender-matching. Students were grouped as: mobile phone usage <20 min/day (Group A), mobile phone usage 20-60 min/day (Group B), and mobile phone usage >60 min/day (Group C). Saliva was collected to evaluate salivary flow rate, salivary IgA level, and salivary markers for oxidative stress.

Results: The salivary flow rate showed no statistically significant difference between the three groups (P = 0.180). There was no statistically significant difference in the salivary IgA between the three groups (P = 0.237). There was a statistically significant difference in the malondialdehyde (MDA) level between the three groups (P = 0.042). On pair comparison between the groups, group B and group C had a statistically significant difference (P = 0.019) in the MDA level. There was no statistically significant difference in the salivary thiol level between the three groups (P = 0.237).

Conclusion: The duration of handheld mobile phone usage did not show any significant effects on the salivary flow rate, salivary IgA, and thiol levels. There was an increase in the salivary MDA concentration in subjects using handheld mobile phones for a longer duration, indicating higher oxidative stress in salivary glands exposed to mobile phone radiofrequency electromagnetic waves for a longer duration.

Keywords: Mobile phones; oxidative stress; saliva.