There is no consensus in the academic community as to the cause of cracked tongue. It may be age-related, as ageing in the body leads to a reduction in the tongue’s ability to absorb nutrients, resulting in metabolic disorders and cracks.
Certain systemic diseases are often associated with cleft tongue, including congenital dysplasia, Down’s syndrome, nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin B2 (riboflavin) deficiency, infectious causes such as syphilitic linguitis, and some rare diseases such as Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome (May-Ro syndrome).
It is also associated with genetic factors, with a high incidence family line found.