Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Patients with Mucosal Lichen Planus: A Case-Control Study

Previous reports have demonstrated an association between chronic inflammation with metabolic syndrome (MS) and cardiovascular risk factors.

As lichen planus (LP) is a chronic inflammatory disease, the purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of MS, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and obesity in LP patients.

A total of 79 patients with LP and 79 controls were examined in this case-control study. Both groups were evaluated for the presence of MS, dyslipidemia, obesity and insulin resistance, and other cardiovascular risk factors. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein were measured as inflammation markers.

The prevalence of MS was significantly higher in the patients with LP than in controls (26.6 vs. 12.7%; P = 0.045). It was also significantly higher in LP patients with mucosal involvement than without (34.5 vs. 8.3%; P = 0.032). Among the MS criteria, mean fasting blood glucose and diastolic blood pressure were also significantly higher in LP patients than in controls (P = 0.012 and P = 0.021, respectively). No significant differences between LP patients and controls were observed with respect to prevalence of dyslipidemia and insulin resistance (P = 0.866 and P = 1.000, respectively). However, duration of disease was significantly longer in patients with insulin resistance than in those without (P = 0.034).

The patients with LP, particularly those with mucosal involvement, have a higher prevalence of MS, which is associated with a risk for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus.