## 3 Results  
Gender distribution among the healthy, T2 DM, and HTN groups ranged from 40% to 60% (Table 1). The mean age among healthy, T2 DM, and HTN patients were 54 \(\pm\) 4.8, 54.4 \(\pm\) 4.1, and 52.4 \(\pm\) 6.2 respectively. The mean unstimulated salivary flow rate among healthy, T2 DM, and HTN subjects was significantly different (\(p\) = 0.002). The mean salivary flow rate was significantly (\(p\)-value = 0.002) lower among T2 DM patients (0.78 \(\pm\) 0.45) in comparison to healthy (1.52 \(\pm\) 0.62) and HTN (1.07 \(\pm\) 0.7) subjects. The salivary flow rate among HTN was lower (\(p\) < 0.05) than healthy subjects but higher (\(p\) < 0.05) than T2 DM subjects. Diabetics (5.9 \(\pm\) 0.5) had the lowest salivary pH when compared to healthy (7.2 \(\pm\) 0.15) and HTN (6.3 \(\pm\) 0.27) patients. Among the subjects, 75% of the HTN subjects used anti-hypertensive drugs while 80% of the T2 DM individuals used hypoglycemic drugs to control their blood sugar levels. A significant difference was observed in salivary mucin levels between the groups (\(p\) < 0.001) (Table 2). Mucin levels were significantly higher (\(p\) < 0.05) in HTN patients (4.6 \(\pm\) 1.17) compared to T2 DM (3.59 \(\pm\) 1.03) and healthy (2.26 \(\pm\) 1.09) subjects. Amylase levels were significantly higher among healthy subjects (1.76 \(\pm\) 0.75) compared to both HTN (1.33 \(\pm\) 1.0) and T2 DM (0.88 \(\pm\) 0.57) patients. T2 DM patients showed the lowest amylase levels compared to HTN and healthy patients. There was a statistically significant difference for total protein concentration between the study groups (\(p\) < 0.001). Total protein concentration was significantly raised (\(p\)-value < 0.001) in T2 DM (37.67 \(\pm\) 3.12) compared to healthy (29.3 \(\pm\) 3.22) subjects (Table 2). Table 3 presents the USWFR, mucin, amylase, and total protein concentration among the patients on hypoglycemic and antihypertensive drugs. It was observed that the hypoglycemic drugs significantly reduced the salivary flow (\(p\) = 0.026) and salivary pH levels (\(p\) < 0.001). Mucin levels were significantly raised in the subjects taking anti-hypertensives (\(p\) = 0.007), while amylase levels were significantly reduced with the use of hypoglycemic drugs (\(p\) = 0.006). The total protein concentration was significantly raised in subjects taking hypoglycemic drugs (\(p\) < 0.001). Significant differences in BOP, CAL, and PPD were observed (\(p\)-value < 0.001), as shown in Table 4. The values of PESA and PISA are significantly different between the three groups (\(p\)-value < 0.001) and indicate a high inflammatory burden in diabetic patients compared to other groups. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline  & **Healthy** & **T2 DM** & **HTN** & \(p\)**-Value** \\ \hline Gender & & & & \\ Males & 10 (50\%) & 12 (60\%) & & 11 (55\%) & \\ Females & 10 (50\%) & 8 (40\%) & 9 (45\%) & \\ Mean age (in years) & 54 \(\pm\) 4.8 & 54.4 \(\pm\) 4.1 & 52.4 \(\pm\) 6.2 & \\ Salivary flow rate (mL/min) & 1.52 \(\pm\) 0.62 & 0.78 \(\pm\) 0.45 & 1.07 \(\pm\) 0.7 & 0.002 \({}^{*}\) \\ Salivary pH & 7.2 \(\pm\) 0.15 & 5.9 \(\pm\) 0.5 & 6.3 \(\pm\) 0.27 & \textless{}0.001 \({}^{**}\) \\ Drugs & & & & \\ None & 0 (100\%) & 5 (25\%) & 4 (20\%) & \\ Anti-hypertensive & 0 (100\%) & 15 (75\%) & 0 (0\%) & \textless{}0.001 \({}^{**}\) \\ Hypoglycemic & 0 (100\%) & 0 (0\%) & 16 (80\%) & \\ \hline \end{tabular} T2 DM—Type II diabetes mellitus; HTN—Hypertension; \({}^{*}\) level of significance at 5\%; \({}^{**}\) level of significance at 1\%.  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Descriptive statistics, mean salivary flow rate, and salivary pH among the groups.