Evaluation of Serum Vitamin D Level in Oral Lichen Planus Patients

Vitamin D is a secosteroid (pro)-hormone with multiple systematic effects, including the regulation of the immune system. Serum vitamin D level affects the progression of some diseases, such as psoriasis and oral cancer. The study aimed to measure the serum vitamin D level in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP), which is an autoimmune and precancerous disease.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 66 patients with OLP and 30 healthy individuals. In addition, serum vitamin D level was measured by ELISA method, and data analysis was performed using Mann–Whitney U and t-test.
In this research, 26 (39.4%) patients with OLP had vitamin D deficiency and 31 (47.0%) subjects had an insufficient vitamin D level. On the other hand, 9 (30.0%) and 15 (50%) of the participants in the control group had vitamin D deficiency and insufficient vitamin D level, respectively. According to the results, no significant relationship was observed in the study groups regarding serum vitamin D levels. However, a reverse and significant correlation was found between age and vitamin D deficiency in the subjects (P=0.015).
According to the results of the study, low serum vitamin D levels were observed in a high percentage of patients with OLP. Given the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the society, extended research is required to evaluate the impact of this deficiency on pathogenesis of the disease.