Journal of Applied Medical Sciences

Physiological Stress Assessments based on Salivary α-amylase Activity and Secretory Immunoglobulin A levels in Wheelchair-dependent Individuals with Congenital Physical Disabilities

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• Abstract

  We sought to assess the circadian rhythm of stress levels on the basis of the s-IgA/total protein ratio and α-amylase activity in the saliva in wheelchair-dependent individuals with congenital physical disabilities. We enrolled 11 individuals with congenital physical disabilities. Saliva samples were collected eight times in a day from each participant: on awakening, after breakfast, before lunch, after lunch, at 15:00 h, before dinner, after dinner and at bedtime. The above indices were measured and compared among the saliva samples obtained at the different time points. The mean s-IgA/total protein ratio from awakening to before lunch was higher than that after lunch and became slightly elevated again at bedtime. However, there were no significant differences among the mean value obtained for each time point. The mean α-amylase activity from before lunch to bed time was greater than that on awakening and after breakfast. The mean α-amylase activity after breakfast was significantly different from that before and after dinner. The values for s-IgA/total protein ratio and α-amylase activity after breakfast, before lunch and after dinner showed significant negative correlations. The circadian rhythm of stress levels in individuals with congenital physical disabilities showed large individual differences over one day.