The difference in the presence of TPOAb was compared between the EOLP and NEOLP subjects using a chi-square test.
Most (n = 30, 65.4%) of the 46 OLP patients with positive TPOAb levels (study group) were diagnosed with EOLP; only 16 (34.6%) were diagnosed with NEOLP.
All OLP patients, regardless of TPOAb status (n = 92) were divided into EOLP (n = 44) and NEOLP (n = 48) groups (Table 3).
The current findings suggest that OLP patients who have positive levels of TPOAb are about four times more likely to develop EOLP than patients with negative TPOAb levels, although this assumption requires further study combined with long-term patient follow-ups.
This may also explain the increased prevalence of EOLP in patients with thyroid disease than in OLP patients free of thyroid disease.