title: Increased Salivary Nitric Oxide and G6PD Activity in Refugees with Anxiety and Stress.
abstract: Anxiety and stress are related to physiological changes in humans. Accumulating evidence suggests a cross-talk between psychiatric disorders and oxidative stress. The objective of this study was to compare oxidative stress and defensive antioxidant biomarkers in a group of refugees with acute anxiety and stress with a group of local Jordanians. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) Arabic version were used to assess anxiety and stress respectively. Salivary nitric oxide concentration, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity and total salivary protein were compared. As expected, refugees showed higher anxiety and stress scores compared with Jordanians. Also, we report a significant increase in salivary nitric oxide and G6PD activity in the refugee group while total protein concentration did not vary between the two groups. This is the first study that demonstrates an increase in nitric oxide and G6PD activity in the saliva of refugees, thus highlighting their potential role as possible biomarkers in anxiety and stress disorders. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, American University of Madaba-Jordan, Madaba, Jordan. o.gammouh@aum.edu.jo.
authors.forename: Omar S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Gammoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences, American University of Madaba-Jordan, Madaba, Jordan.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Smadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences, American University of Madaba-Jordan, Madaba, Jordan.
authors.forename: Wajdy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Al-Awaida
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Mujtaba M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Badr
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Nidal A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Qinna
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq / Q000208:ethnology; D007597:Jordan / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D012036:Refugees; D012463:Saliva; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D009569:Nitric Oxide; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase
keywords: G6PD; anxiety; nitric oxide; stress