The Relationship Between Salivary Candida Albicans Colony Count and Blood Group Antigens in Dentistry Students

Background and Aims: Candida albicans is the most prevalent opportunistic fungal species in the oral cavity. To date, several studies have been investigated the various factors associated with oral candidiasis. On the other hand, it has been proven that blood types antigens lead to some infectious factors. This study aimed to evaluate Candida albicans colonies in the saliva of dentistry students based on their blood type to detect a relationship between blood group and incidence of oral candidiasis. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 200 dentistry students were selected by a simple sampling method, including 100 individuals with blood type O and 100 with other blood types. The unstimulated salivary samples of all the participants were collected by spitting, cultured on Sabouraud medium, and then the isolated Candida albicans colonies were enumerated and recorded. Results: In the present study, samples comprised 77 males and 123 females, of whom 15.5% (31 individuals) carried colony-forming units > 40. The mean of Candida albicans colonies in the individuals' saliva with blood type O was 21.55, and it was 10.68 in the other groups. Besides, the differences were statistically significant (p = 0.024). There was no significant difference in Candida albicans colony count between O positive and O negative blood groups. Conclusions: The result of this study showed a significant relationship between the number of Candida albicans colonies of saliva and the individual’s blood type.