title: Relationship of oral lichen planus to hepatitis C virus in southern Taiwan.
abstract: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a relatively common skin and oral disease that manifests as a mucous reaction to a variety of etiologic factors, including autoimmune disease, drug reaction, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, hepatitis C virus (HCV), urolithiasis, psychogenic factors, and bacterial infection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between HCV infection and OLP as there is a high prevalence of HCV infection in Taiwan. A total of 1,075 subjects aged at least 15 years participated in the study. The total prevalence of OLP was 3% (32/1,075). OLP was significantly associated with DM (odds ratio, OR, 3.09) and HCV (OR, 2.05). Atrophic-erosive OLP (13/32) and reticular OLP (21/32) were significantly associated with HCV and DM, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed that elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) significantly increased the risk of atrophic-erosive OLP. We concluded that OLP is significantly associated with HCV and DM in southern Taiwan, particularly in HCV patients with elevated serum ALT levels and atrophic-erosive OLP.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institutes of Dental Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Yi-Hsin
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ting-Tsung
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Dar-Bin
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Shieh
authors.forename: Shyun-Yen
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Tien-Yu
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Shieh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000410:Alanine Transaminase