title: Stability of unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva flow rates in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the stability of the unstimulated saliva flow rate (USFR) and the stimulated saliva flow rate (SSFR) in children followed from age 7 to 12 years old.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal study. Whole saliva samples were collected from school children (50 girls and 50 boys). Forty-four girls and 32 boys remained in this cohort for 6 years (dropout rate 24%). Variables that could influence USFR or SSFR patterns were analyzed in a repeated-measures manova.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over a 6-year follow-up, the children's USFR ranged from 0.41 to 0.46 mL/min in the initial and final observation, respectively, and showed no significant differences (P = 0.4455) during the follow-up. The children consistently belonged to one of three distinct SSFR groups (P < 0.0001). A repeated-measures manova model showed that USFR and SSFR were not associated with sex, body mass index, or indoor temperature during sampling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that USFR and SSFR patterns were stable from 7 to 12 years old. This finding may be useful in oral health prevention or treatment and in the search for biomarkers in saliva for screening or diagnostic purposes.
authors.affiliation: Area of Research in Clinical Sciences, Health Care Department, Metropolitan Autonomous University - Xochimilco Unit, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Leonor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Area of Research in Clinical Sciences, Health Care Department, Metropolitan Autonomous University - Xochimilco Unit, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Irigoyen-Camacho
authors.affiliation: Area of Research in Clinical Sciences, Health Care Department, Metropolitan Autonomous University - Xochimilco Unit, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sáenz-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Area of Research in Clinical Sciences, Health Care Department, Metropolitan Autonomous University - Xochimilco Unit, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zepeda Zepeda
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Laboratory, School of Dentistry, National University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Acosta-Gío
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research in Applied Mathematics and Systems, National University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Méndez-Ramírez
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D012016:Reference Values; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism*; D012472:Salivation / Q000502:physiology*; D012636:Secretory Rate; D012737:Sex Factors; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical; D014987:Xerostomia