The risk factors associated with geographic tongue in a southwestern Chinese population

The goal of this study was to look into age, genetics,sex, oral mucosa diseases, and systemic diseases as potential risk factors for the geographic tongue (GT) in a Chinese population.

This retrospective cross-sectional study used the demographic and medical data of 3400 patients between March 2021 and August 2021 from the Department of Oral Medicine at West China Hospital of Stomatology. Binary logistic regression was conducted to analyze the association of GT and age, fissured tongue (FT), burning mouth syndrome (BMS), oral lichen planus (OLP), gastrointestinal disorders, and hematologic disorders and to acquire the adjusted odds ratio (AOR).

GT occurred in 3.6% of patients, with 15 out of 123 (12.2%) patients with GT having a family history. Binary logistic regression found age <30 years (AOR: 4.4; [95% CI: 2.8-6.9]), FT (28.8 [17.1-48.4]), BMS (0.3 [0.1-0.6]), OLP (0.2 [0.0-0.5]), and gastrointestinal disorders (4.3 [2.7-6.7]) were significantly associated with GT, and GT was unrelated to recurrent aphthous ulcer (RAU) or systemic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases.

In the Chinese population, GT was more prevalent in patients with <30 years of age, FT, and gastrointestinal disorders, and it was less prevalent in BMS and OLP.