Prevalence of oral lesions in HIV infected adult population of Mangalore, Karnataka, India

The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of oral lesions in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients and investigate if there was a relationship between oral manifestations and the level of immunosuppression. 125 patients infected with HIV in the age group of 20-40 years were examined for the presence of different oral lesions according to the EEC criterion. The CD4 count, as well as any therapy being instituted was recorded and correlated with the oral manifestations seen. Comparison of common oral lesions present to absent was done by chi square test using linear by linear association. The prevalence of oral lesions among the investigated HIV patients was found to be 71%, with periodontitis – 52% and erythematous candidiasis – 48% being the most prevalent oral lesions; as well, periodontitis and oral hairy leukoplakia were found to be significantly associated with the immunosuppression in the disease. Thus, oral lesions have been found to be associated with the early manifestation of HIV and a measure of disease severity