title: Psychological profile in oral lichen planus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an oral lesion with an enigmatic etiology. To explore the possibility of psycho-somatization, we evaluated the psychological personality profiles of OLP patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty patients with reticular; 20 with erosive form of OLP, and 25 controls were tested with the psychological Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-202 test. Eight clinical scales (hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviate, paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, and hypomania) as well as cortisol level, CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD16 markers by group were compared. Psychosomatization was evaluated by the use of internalization ratio (IR) Index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A characteristic MMPI profile was noted in the OLP groups with high IR index value. Significant differences among the groups were detected for cortisol, CD4, CD8, and CD16 counts. Mean values for hypochondriasis, depression, and hysteria were all significantly different with significantly higher mean scores for both reticular and erosive OLP subjects compared with controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prolonged emotive stress in many OLP patients may lead to psychosomatization and may contribute to the initiation and clinical expression of this oral disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  If additional research involving a larger and more diverse sample of patients confirms these findings, clinical trials will be needed to determine whether adjunctive psychological intervention provides a benefit in treating patients with OLP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University "St Kiril and Metodi," Skopje, Macedonia.
authors.forename: Kiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ivanovski
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakova
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Warburton
authors.forename: Snezana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pesevska
authors.forename: Angelina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Filipovska
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nares
authors.forename: Martha E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Nunn
authors.forename: Dragana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Angelova
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Angelov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000097:blood / Q000523:psychology*; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008950:MMPI; D008875:Middle Aged; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006854:Hydrocortisone