A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comorbidities in Lichen Sclerosus With a Screening Recommendation
April 2023
in “
Journal of Investigative Dermatology
”
TLDR People with Lichen sclerosus are more likely to have skin conditions like vitiligo and alopecia areata, heart disease risks, and other health issues. They should be checked for these, but screening plans shouldn't differ based on gender due to lack of data.
The systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 case-control studies found that patients with Lichen sclerosus (LS), regardless of gender, had significantly higher odds of having vitiligo, alopecia areata, and cardiovascular risk factors and diseases compared to non-LS controls. Females with LS also had higher odds of having atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, which was not the case for males with LS. The study also found higher odds for various other diseases in LS patients, including skin, thyroid, liver and kidney diseases, certain rheumatic, upper respiratory, gastrointestinal, ophthalmic and psychiatric diseases, genital infections, tension type headache and coagulopathies. However, these were not studied in both genders. The study concluded that all LS patients should be screened for cardiovascular risk factors, depression, genital infections, thyroid, liver and kidney diseases as well as coagulopathies, but gender-dependent screening strategies in LS are currently not reasonable due to limited data.