Oral manifestations in inflammatory bowel disease: A cross‑sectional study in Isfahan

Abstract

Background: Various systemic diseases can cause oral manifestations, such as inflammatory bowel
disease (IBD). This study is designed to investigate the frequency of oral manifestations in patients
with IBD referred to health centers and offices in Isfahan in 2018.
Materials and Methods: This cross‑sectional study was done among 161 patients suffering from
IBD in Isfahan, Iran. They were chosen by the systematic randomized sampling. Finally, the data were
analyzed using the logistic regression test in the SPSS software. Significance was assigned at P < 0.05.
Results: The number of patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s syndrome was, respectively, 119
persons (73.9%) and 42 persons (26.1%). Oral manifestations were seen among 52 (32.3%) of the
samples. The frequency of oral manifestations was 35.6% (31 cases) in males and 28.4% (21 cases)
in females. Oral manifestations were seen in 29.4% of patients with ulcerative colitis and 40.5% of
patients with Crohn’s disease. Based on the logistic regression, there was a statistically significant
relationship between the use of azathioprine and mesalazine with oral manifestations (P < 0.05),
whereas the severity of disease and smoking were not statistically significantly related to oral
manifestations (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: The severity of the disease was not significantly correlated with oral manifestations,
which are in agreement with the results of previous studies. It was also found that among patients
with IBD, the oral aphthous ulcers can appear 1–3 years before the diagnosis of the disease.
Besides that, some of the drugs used to treat the disease have a significant relationship with oral
manifestations.
Key Words: Colitis, Crohn disease, inflammatory bowel disease, oral manifestations,
ulcerative