RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a relatively common chronic inflammatory disease whose etiopathogenesis is not completely understood. Several factors have been proposed in an attempt to explain the variety of clinical manifestations and periods of exacerbation and remission of symptoms of these lesions. The objective of this study was to associate local factors, systemic diseases, and level of anxiety with clinical characteristics of OLP. METHODS: The following factors were analyzed in 37 patients with OLP: presence of smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hepatitis C virus infection. Anxiety was measured by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. These variables were associated with clinical form and symptoms (chi-squared/Fisher's exact test). RESULTS: The erosive form was the most prevalent presentation (57.1%). Symptoms were reported by 45.7% of the patients. Most patients were non-smokers (97.3%), and none of them was an alcoholic. Diabetes and hypertension were present in 10.8% and 16.2% of the patients, respectively. Only one patient was hepatitis C virus seropositive, and 78.4% presented moderate levels of anxiety. No significant association was observed between the variables studied and clinical form or symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, no association was observed between local and systemic factors or level of anxiety and clinical characteristics of OLP.