Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of celiac disease (CD) in patients with erosive and reticular form of oral lichen planus (OLP) compared to healthy controls.
Materials and methods: Tissue transglutaminase antibodies (anti-tTG) and antibodies against gliadin (AGA) were measured in the sera from 56 OLP patients and 57 healthy controls, who also underwent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing. The duodenal biopsy was performed in patients with positive serology, and a gluten-free diet was recommended if CD was confirmed.
Results: CD was diagnosed in eight OLP patients (14.29 %). Six OLP patients (10.71 %) were positive for immunoglobulin A (IgA) tTG. A statistically significant difference among the forms of oral lichen was observed for the IgA tTG (p = 0.03) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) tTG (p = 0.01). Higher frequencies of HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 were found in OLP patients compared to the control group.
Conclusion: The prevalence of CD was higher in patients with OLP than in the control group. Therefore, increased efforts aimed at the early detection and dietary treatment of CD, among antibody-positive OLP patients, are advisable.
Clinical relevance: Our study confirmed the increased frequency of CD among OLP patients. CD screening should be considered in OLP patients, since untreated CD can present many complications and reduce a patient's quality of life.