Association of Serum Estrodiol Levels with Oral Lichen Planus in Postmenopausal Women - A Comparative Study

Abstract Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is one of the most prevalent mucocutaneous immunological disorders affecting females. The aim of the study was to determine whether there is an association of serum estradiol levels with the occurrence of OLP in postmenopausal women and also to correlate the estradiol levels with the clinical types of OLP. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study on patients diagnosed clinically and histopathologically as OLP ( n = 50) and the controls consisted of 50 postmenopausal women randomly selected with clinically normal oral mucosa. The serum estradiol was estimated for both groups. Student’s t -test was used to compare the quantitative variables. Results: Serum estradiol of OLP patients was 13.45 ± 7.96, remarkably less than the controls, 19.49 ± 6.59 ( P ≤ 0.01). Also, estradiol was seen to decline with the severity of OLP with reticular type (15.5 pg/mL) than erosive (11.1 pg/mL) and bullous (12 pg/mL). Both the patients and controls showed a decline in levels of estradiol with the increase in the period of last menstruation. Increased prevalence of OLP in patients who underwent hysterectomy and oophorectomy than in the controls ( P < 0.01). Conclusion: Serum estradiol in postmenopausal patients with OLP declined with increased severity of OLP type.