Assessing the Thyroid Autoimmunity Association with Recurrent Aphtous Stomatitis

Abstract

Background Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), a common disease of the oral mucosa, can be painful and reduce the quality of life. Since many investigations have focused on the autoimmune origins of RAS, we aimed to investigate the relationship between RAS and autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATDs) in an Iranian population. Methods A cross-sectional study was done on 102 patients diagnosed with ATD (case) and 102 healthy patients (control) who had been referred for their routine dental treatments. All participants were asked for the history of RAS and their age, gender, other systemic diseases, medications, and frequency of RAS in a year. Matching was done based on propensity score for age and gender. Also, the number of lesions in each recurrence in both groups has been assessed and compared. The type of thyroid disease has been assessed for case participants and has been confirmed by the endocrinologist. The chi-square test, T-test, and Man-Whitney test were used to analyze the data by SPSS 18. Results The patients with ATD had more RAS in comparison to healthy controls (P = 0.040). ATD patients had 1.93times more risk for RAS, and the frequency of RAS in a year was 3.15times higher in these patients (P = 0.011). Moreover, the frequency of RAS was higher in patients with hypothyroidism than in patients with hyperthyroidism (P = 0.03). However, there were no significant differences regarding the size and the number of lesions between the groups. Conclusion The risk and frequency of RAS was significantly higher in patients with ATDs. However, the size and the number of lesions had no relationship to ATD.