Melasma associated with periodontitis, anemia, and vitamin D abnormalities: A chance occurrence or a syndrome

Abstract

Aim: To correlate the possible association between melasma, periodontitis, vitamin D abnormalities, and anemia. Materials and methods: A total of 192 subjects, of either gender within the age group of 30 to 70 years were divided equally into two groups, group I (case group, patients with melasma) and group II (control group, patients without melasma). In all the subjects, anemia and periodontitis were checked clinically, along with biochemical evaluation of serum vitamin D levels and hemoglobin (Hb) percentage. Results: Student's t-test was performed with group statistics and chi-square for intervariable correlation was carried out. A significant correlation was found between patients having melasma and serum vitamin D levels with a p-value of 0.050. Between patients with melasma and periodontitis, there was a very significant correlation between the variables, with a p-value of 0.001. Conversely, the correlation between melasma and Hb percentage was found to be insignificant with the p-value 0.243, and all of the p-values remained at < 0.05.The study thus demonstrated significant correlation between melasma, vitamin D abnormalities, and clinical periodontitis (p-value < 0.05), and no significant correlation between melasma and Hb. Conclusion: The cross-sectional study revealed that patients with melasma may have abnormal serum vitamin D and clinical periodontitis. This presence may be considered a syndromic occurrence. Clinical significance: The present study was done to correlate and also evaluate periodontitis, vitamin D abnormalities, and anemia in patients with melasma. It is primarily an observational study, attempting to evaluate the co-occurrence of the abovementioned variables. The findings may prompt us to further investigate melasma for the presence of periodontitis, anemia, and vitamin D abnormalities.