Inter-Relationship Between Stress and Serum Cortisol Levels in Leukoplakia and Oral Submucous Fibrosis: Time to Deliberate.

Introduction: Stress, a blend of emotional and physical tension, triggers somatic and psychological symptoms like lethargy, insomnia, anxiety, and depression. It weakens immunity via two routes: the biological mechanism, involving the "hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis" and cortisol production, and the behavioural mechanism, fostering unhealthy habits such as smoking, alcoholism, and poor diet. Over time, these habits escalate, leading to potentially malignant disorders. To assess and establish the Aims: relationship between anxiety, depression, and serum cortisol levels, and to examine the levels of anxiety, depression, and serum cortisol in habitassociated potentially malignant disorders (PMDs) such as oral submucous brosis (OSMF) and leukoplakia, comparing them with those of healthy individuals. Materials And Methods: Our study group comprised of 60 participants in which 20 were of Leukoplakia, 20 OSMF and 20 healthy individuals. Selection was contingent upon clinical diagnosis. Assessments utilising the HAM-A and HAM-D questionnaires were conducted. Additionally, morning blood samples were collected from all participants for serum cortisol analysis. We found a positive Result: correlation between serum cortisol, anxiety and depression as compared to healthy controls when data was analyzed and tabulated using student 't 'test and P value< 0.05 was considered to be statistically signicant. Conclusion: In habit oriented patients there is a high probability of anxiety and depression. Also patients with anxiety and depression are more likely to start a habit of smoking or tobacco chewing. Through this study a positive correlation between both PMD and stress was assessed when compared with healthy controls