Serum antioxidant micronutrient levels in oral lichen planus

The aim of this study was to elucidate any association between oral lichen planus (OLP) and serum antioxidant micronutrients by a population-based case-control study. A total of 9536 subjects were examined, and 62 (58 reticular, 4 atrophic and erosive) diagnosed with OLP at referral facilities were compared with four controls per case (n=248) selected among disease-free subjects matched for age and sex. Serum levels of micronutrients (retinol, alpha-tocopherol, zeaxanthin/lutein and cryptoxanthin, lycopene, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene) were estimated by the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Among cases, mean serum retinol level (2.820+/-0.849 micromol/l) was significantly higher compared with that of controls (2.562+/-0.735 micromol/l) (P<0.05). No significant differences were noted in carotenoid levels examined in this study, except for a lower level of lycopene found in atrophic/erosive OLP cases. The results of this study suggest that low serum retinol or carotenoid levels are not risk factors for occurrence of lichen planus, and any specific benefits of antioxidant micronutrients cannot be claimed for this inflammatory disorder.