Prevalence of Oral Manifestations of Iron Deficiency Anemia in a Sample of Egyptian Population, Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) patients have specific oral manifestations and a particular blood profile as compared to normal individuals as well as significantly higher frequencies of all oral manifestations. Methods: The study was conducted on 180 patients attending the Hematology Department in Kasr Al Ainy Hospital and diagnosed as having IDA, the history was taken from patients through an interview with the investigator and followed by clinical examination to determine if they had any generalized symptoms and signs of anemia. The oral complaints and the presence of oral mucosal changes were recorded. The diagnosis of any of the forms of oral mucosal lesions was done mainly on clinical basis, depending on the recognition of the lesion. Results: The results showed that the prevalence of oral manifestations at different Hb levels in the IDA patients included high frequency of oral lesions such as: pallor (97.2%), atrophic glossitis (AG) (34.4%), fissured tongue (24.4%), and low frequency of: recurrent aphthous ulcer (RAU) (6.1%), burning sensation of the oral mucosa (2.2%), angular cheilitis (AC) (1.1%), oral pigmentation (1.1%), geographic tongue (GT) (1.1%), and oral lichen planus (OLP) (0.6%). Conclusion: Patients with IDA had special oral manifestations. In the light of the particular blood and iron profile detected in our patients, neither Hb level nor serum iron or ferritin level were showing any significant association with the presence of oral manifestations. Within the limitations of the current study, the only significant association was found between RAU and the duration of anemia.