Oral manifestations and blood profile in patients with iron deficiency anemia

Background/Purpose: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common type of anemia. This study evaluated whether IDA patients had specific oral manifestations and a particular blood profile compared to normal controls. Methods: The oral manifestations and mean red blood cell (RBC) count, corpuscular cell volume, RBC distribution width, Mentzer index, and Green and King index as well as blood concentrations of hemoglobin, iron, total iron binding capacity, vitamin B12, folic acid, and homocysteine in 75 IDA patients and in 150 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were measured and compared. Results: IDA patients had significantly higher frequencies of all oral manifestations than healthy controls (p<0.001 for all), in which burning sensation of oral mucosa (76.0%), lingual varicosity (56.0%), dry mouth (49.3%), oral lichen planus (33.3%), and atrophic glossitis (26.7%) were the five leading oral manifestations for IDA patients. Moreover, IDA patients had significantly lower mean hemoglobin level, RBC count, corpuscular cell volume, Mentzer index, iron level, and vitamin B12 level (p<0.001 for all except p=0.003 for vitamin B12) as well as significantly higher mean RBC distribution width, Green and King index and total iron binding capacity level (p<0.001 for all) than healthy controls. However, no significant difference in the mean blood folic acid or homocysteine level was found between 75 IDA patients and 150 healthy controls. Conclusion: IDA patients have specific oral manifestations and a particular blood profile compared to normal controls.