Are there any relationships between personality type, salivary total antioxidant level and academic stress?

Stress is one of the most important determinants of total antioxidant capacity (TAC).

This study aimed to assess alterations in salivary TAC following academic stress according to the personality type.

This descriptive study evaluated 53 dental students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, who were divided into type A (n = 25) and type B (n = 28) personality groups using the Bortner questionnaire. Saliva samples were collected during the 1st week of the semester (a low-stress period) and during the 1st week of the final exams (a high-stress period). Salivary TAC was measured using a specific kit. The data was analyzed using the repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), the χ2 tests, the independent t tests, and the Bonferroni adjustments.

Overall, salivary TAC in the high-stress period was significantly lower than that in the low-stress period (0.27 vs 0.31 mM) (p = 0.016). The comparison of salivary TAC between the type A and type B personality groups in the low-stress period showed no significant difference (p = 0.450). During the highstress period, a reduction in salivary TAC was recorded in both groups, which was borderline significant in the type A personality group (p = 0.050), but non-significant in the type B personality group (p = 0.140). The comparison of salivary TAC between the type A and B personality groups in the high-stress period also revealed no significant difference (p = 0.780).

Academic stress can decrease salivary TAC, and the personality type has no significant effect on this relationship.