Is poor oral health a risk factor for idiopathic granulomatous mastitis?

OBJECTIVE: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis is a rare inflammatory disease of the breast that clinically and radiologically can be confused with carcinoma. Although its etiology remains unclear, it is stated that it may be related to pregnancy, lactation, hormonal imbalance, autoimmunity, smoking, α1-antitrypsin deficiency and various microorganisms. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between idiopathic granulomatous mastitis and oral health. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our study included 42 female patients diagnosed with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis as a result of histopathological evaluations between September 2018 and October 2023. The reference group consisted of 47 female patients with clinically, radiologically and laboratory proven non-specific mastitis and 36 healthy female individuals. The oral health of all individuals included in the study was evaluated by an experienced dentist using "Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth" (DMFT) and "Simplified Oral Hygiene Index" (OHI-S) index values. RESULTS: The ages of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis patients included in the study ranged between 29-51 years (mean age 34.88±4.87). The most common clinical findings were pain (n=38), palpable breast mass (n=32), erythema (n=22), induration (n=14) and dermal sinus (n=10). When OHI-S and DMFT index values of the individuals included in the study were compared, both OHI-S and DMFT index values of individuals diagnosed with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis were statistically significantly higher than those of the reference group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that poor oral health may be involved in the etiology of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis. Therefore, it may be useful to consider oral health in the etiology of IGM in future studies and to investigate oral microbiota in samples obtained from the target tissue.