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Introduction: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic mucocutaneous disease with multifactorial etiology and pathogenesis. It has been associated with numerous systemic diseases. However, meager information exists on common comorbidities in OLP.

Objective: To determine the association of OLP with common comorbidities including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, thyroid dysfunction and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Methodology: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), Nepal. Twenty-six patients (cases) with clinically and histopathologically diagnosed OLP and 26 age and sex matched healthy individuals (controls) were selected and assessed for hypertension, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, dyslipidemia and HCV infection. Chi-square test and Odds Ratio (95% confidence interval) were used for statistical analysis.

Result: When compared to controls, patients with hypothyroidism were associated with a fivefold increased odds of having OLP (OR 5.33, 95% CI: 1.01-28.21) and the difference was statistically significant (p =0.035). Hypertension (p=0.569), diabetes (p= 0.442) and dyslipidemia (p=0.578) were not significantly associated with OLP. All the subjects screened for anti-HCV antibodies were found to be HCV negative.

Conclusion: OLP patients should be evaluated for the presence of thyroid diseases and vice versa so that it can be diagnosed at early stage and treated accurately.