Background and objective
Psoriasis is a multisystem disease associated with an increased prevalence of oral lesions. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of oral lesions in patients with psoriasis and examine associations with clinical and patient characteristics.
Material and methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients with psoriasis and healthy controls seen between December 2019 and February 2020. We recorded biometric data, comorbidities associated with psoriasis, oral examination findings, and clinical characteristics of psoriasis.
Results
We studied 100 patients with psoriasis and 100 controls. Oral lesions were more common in the psoriasis group (74% vs 46%, P<.001). The most common lesions were fissured tongue (39% vs 16%, P<.001) and periodontitis (28% vs 16%, P=.04). Geographic tongue was uncommon in both the study and the control group (4% vs 2%, P=.68). In the psoriasis group, patients with fissured tongue had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (23.1% vs 4.9%), diabetes mellitus (28.2% vs 8.2%), and psoriatic arthritis (15.4% vs 1.6%) than those without this condition. Periodontitis was also associated with a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (28.6% vs 5.6%). Type of psoriasis, location, and time since onset were not significantly associated with oral lesions. Patients with oral lesions, however, had more severe disease (Psoriasis Area Severity Index [PASI], 3.9 vs 2.4; P=.05). Mean PASI was also higher in patients with fissured tongue (4.7 vs. 2.7, P=.03) and periodontitis (5.1 vs. 2.9, P=.04).
Conclusions
The prevalence of oral lesions, especially fissured tongue and periodontitis, is higher in patients with psoriasis than in healthy controls. Oral lesions were associated with more severe psoriasis and a higher prevalence of associated comorbidities. We recommend examining the oral cavity of patients with psoriasis, especially those with more severe disease and comorbidities, irrespective of type of psoriasis, location, or time since onset.
