title: Correlations between health status and OralChroma™-determined volatile sulfide levels in mouth air of the elderly.
abstract: Dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a volatile sulfur compound (VSC) found in mouth air, is thought to be associated with systemic diseases; this in contrast to the two other VSCs found in mouth air: hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan (MM). This study aimed to validate the relationship between DMS in mouth air and oral and systemic factors. The subjects were 393 elderly Japanese volunteers participating in an oral and systemic health survey. They were surveyed for the concentration of VSC components in their mouth air and for their oral and systemic health status. Using logistic regression models, the prevalence of DMS in mouth air above the organoleptic threshold level (OTL) was found to be significantly associated with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, medical history of colon polyps and asthma, being female, and the presence of MM in mouth air above the OTL. Our data suggest that systemic factors, such as a high serum HDL cholesterol level and a medical history of asthma and colon polyps, might be more prominent in subjects with elevated DMS. The differences, although statistically significant, are quite small. They also indicate that an oral factor, such as a high MM mouth-air level also influences the DMS mouth-air level in addition to systemic factors.
authors.affiliation: Division of Community Oral Health Science, Department of Health Promotion, School of Dentistry, Kyushu Dental College, 2-6-1 Manazuru, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Japan. awa-shu@kyu-dent.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Awano
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.forename: Inho
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamasaki
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sonoki
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohsumi
authors.forename: Tatsuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishihara
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ansai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000388:Air / Q000032:analysis*; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006209:Halitosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013440:Sulfides / Q000032:analysis*; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D013440:Sulfides; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; C004784:dimethyl sulfide