Association of Autoimmune Diseases with Lichen Sclerosus in 532 Male and Female Patients

TLDR

Lichen sclerosus is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease mainly affecting the anogenital area, and evidence suggests it is associated with other autoimmune diseases in women but not in men. The study retrospectively assessed the prevalence of autoimmune diseases and related serological markers in male and female lichen sclerosus patients. The cohort included 532 patients (396 women, 136 men; 500 adults, 32 children; mean age 49 years; female:male ratio 3:1) with 85% presenting genital and 15% extragenital disease. Women with lichen sclerosus were significantly more likely to have an associated autoimmune disease than men (odds ratio 4.3, 95% confidence interval 1.9–9.6).

Abstract

Lichen sclerosus is a relatively common chronic inflammatory skin disease that predominantly affects the anogenital area. Accumulating evidence indicates that lichen sclerosus in women may be associated with other autoimmune disease, whereas this association seems to lack in male patients. We retrospectively evaluated the prevalence of autoimmune diseases and serological parameters indicative for autoimmunity in male and female patients with lichen sclerosus. Of the 532 patients (396 women, 136 men; 500 adults, 32 children; mean age: 49 years; range 1–89 years; female:male ratio 3:1), 452 (85%) had genital and 80 (15%) had extragenital disease. In women, lichen sclerosus was significantly more often associated with at least one autoimmune disease as compared to men (odds ratio [OR] 4.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9–9.6; p