Alterations in Serum Lipid Profile Patterns in Oral Lichen Planus A Cross-Sectional Study Pia Lo ´pez-Jornet, Fabio Camacho-Alonso and M. Angeles Rodrı ´guez-Martı ´nes Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain Abstract Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disorder. Recently, a case-control study found that lichen planus was associated with dyslipidemia in a large series of patients. However, no data were presented about lipid values in patients and controls. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the hypothetical association between OLP and dyslipidemia. Materials and Methods: The study included a total of 400 patients (200 with OLP and 200 controls with other oral diseases) and investigated the prevalence of dyslipidemia. The variables analyzed were age, sex, tobacco and alcohol consumption, clinical form of OLP and lipid profiles. Results: A 54% prevalence of dyslipidemia was found (58% among the OLP group and 50% in the control group). Statistically significant differences in high-density lipoprotein were found between OLP patients and the control group (p = 0.003). A logistic regression model for presence/absence of cardiovascular risk (Castelli’s atherogenic index of ‡5.1 for men and ‡4.5 for women) found statistically significant differences for sex and tobacco consumption. Conclusions: The study found a higher atherogenic index amongst OLP patients. Introduction Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the oral mucous membranes of 0.1–4% of the popula- tion. [1,2] Oral lesions occur in 70–77% of patients with cutaneous lesions, and often the oral mucosa is the only mucocutaneous surface affected. [3] It is a disease of middle age and is more common among women. [3,4] Although the pathogenesis of OLP is still an area of active investigation, it is well documented that OLP rep- resents a cell-mediated immune response with an infiltrating cell population composed of both T4 and T8 lymphocytes. [5-7] The histologic features of OLP are fairly characteristic: band-like, mainly lymphocytic, immuno-inflammatory infiltration next to the basement membrane with resulting liquefaction degeneration of the basement membrane and destruction of basal keratinocytes. [2,6] OLP lesions usually have recognizable and distinctive clin- ical features. OLP is often asymptomatic but in some patients, mainly those affected by the atrophic-erosive form, it can cause symptoms ranging from a burning sensation to severe pain, sometimes interfering with speaking, eating, and swallowing. [8,9] A range of treatments has been applied to OLP (topical and/or systemic corticosteroids, retinoids, tacrolimus, cyclosporine, immunosuppressors, etc.). [2,8] An increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus and carbohy- drate intolerance has been observed in patients with OLP, suggesting its possible role in the pathogenesis of these etiolog- ically obscure diseases. [5,10-12] Its pathophysiology is thought to result from an immune response to unknown antigens within the oral epithelium. [13-16] A pathogenetic link may exist between dyslipidemia and OLP. [17-20] Inflammation is frequently discussed as a potential major mechanistic contributor to atherothrombosis and mea- surement of inflammatory markers could have the potential of improving risk stratification beyond the scope of current global risk assessment. [18,20] It has been hypothesized that the associ- ation between OLP and cardiovascular (CV) risk is due to chronic systemic inflammation. [17,20] Dyslipidemia constitutes a risk factor for atherosclerosis. To date, few studies have investigated the association be- tween OLP and dyslipidemia. The objective of this case-control ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Am J Clin Dermatol 2012; 13 (6): 399-404 1175-0561/12/0006-0399/$49.95/0 Adis ª 2012 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved.