ASSESSMENT OF SERUM VITAMIN B12 AND FOLIC ACID IN PATIENTS WITH ORAL LICHEN PLANUS: A CASE CONTROL STUDY

Statement of Problem: Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) is a chronic immunologic disorder with unknown etiology. Stress and anxiety are some risk factors for OLP and Vitamin B12 and folic acid have been proved to be effective micro-nutrients for prevention of anxiety and depression. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate serum Vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency in patients with OLP. Materials and Method: Forty eight individuals (32 cases with histopatholo-gically proven OLP and 16 healthy subjects) were recruited. Serum folic acid and Vitamin B12 were assessed for each individual. T-test was applied for data analysis. Results: Vitamin B12 deficiency was found in 8 of 32 cases with OLP (25%) while in the control group it was found in 12.5% of the subjects ( p >0.05). Of the 32 patients with OLP, one had folic acid deficiency while none of the control subjects had such a deficiency ( p >0.05). Conclusion: Although Vitamin B12 deficiency in OLP patients did not show a statistically significant difference compared with healthy subjects, it was approximately twice as much as the control group. And it can be suggested that Vitamin B12 may have some effective roles in OLP pathogenesis while folic acid deficiency cannot be considered as a prominent risk factor in OLP.  More studies are needed to prove such relation.