Psychological profile in oral lichen planus
Kiro Ivanovski
Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University “St Kiril and Metodi,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorMarija Nakova
Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University “St Kiril and Metodi,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorGary Warburton
Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Maryland Medical System, Baltimore, MD, USA
Search for more papers by this authorSnezana Pesevska
Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University “St Kiril and Metodi,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorAngelina Filipovska
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University “St Kiril and Metodi,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorSalvador Nares
Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Search for more papers by this authorMartha E. Nunn
Public Health Organization “Zdravstven Dom,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorDragana Angelova
Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorNikola Angelov
Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorKiro Ivanovski
Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University “St Kiril and Metodi,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorMarija Nakova
Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University “St Kiril and Metodi,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorGary Warburton
Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Maryland Medical System, Baltimore, MD, USA
Search for more papers by this authorSnezana Pesevska
Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University “St Kiril and Metodi,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorAngelina Filipovska
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University “St Kiril and Metodi,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorSalvador Nares
Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Search for more papers by this authorMartha E. Nunn
Public Health Organization “Zdravstven Dom,” Skopje, Macedonia
Search for more papers by this authorDragana Angelova
Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorNikola Angelov
Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorNikola Angelov and Kiro Ivanovski contributed equally to this paper
Abstract
Aim: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an oral lesion with an enigmatic etiology. To explore the possibility of psycho-somatization, we evaluated the psychological personality profiles of OLP patients.
Methods: Twenty patients with reticular; 20 with erosive form of OLP, and 25 controls were tested with the psychological Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-202 test. Eight clinical scales (hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviate, paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, and hypomania) as well as cortisol level, CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD16 markers by group were compared. Psychosomatization was evaluated by the use of internalization ratio (IR) Index.
Results: A characteristic MMPI profile was noted in the OLP groups with high IR index value. Significant differences among the groups were detected for cortisol, CD4, CD8, and CD16 counts. Mean values for hypochondriasis, depression, and hysteria were all significantly different with significantly higher mean scores for both reticular and erosive OLP subjects compared with controls.
Conclusions: Prolonged emotive stress in many OLP patients may lead to psychosomatization and may contribute to the initiation and clinical expression of this oral disorder.
Clinical significance: If additional research involving a larger and more diverse sample of patients confirms these findings, clinical trials will be needed to determine whether adjunctive psychological intervention provides a benefit in treating patients with OLP.
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