Non-Cochrane · other · PM42924163
Global prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis among school and university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Rezaei Majd Ariana, Nikbakht Hossein-Ali, Ebrahimi Pouyan, et al. · Caspian journal of internal medicine · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.22088/cjim.17.3.480
Findings
28 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Cankovic (2015) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.15 [0.06, 0.25] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 8029 participants |
| School and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Current | Prevalence proportion 0.14 [0.06, 0.24] GRADE not reported 16 studies |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Dua (2022) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.14 [0.06, 0.25] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 7815 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Purnama (2021) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.12 [0.05, 0.20] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 8093 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Jahanbani (2012) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.15 [0.07, 0.26] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 7109 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Verma (2023) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.15 [0.07, 0.26] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 6995 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Afridi (2014) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.14 [0.06, 0.24] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 7929 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Nivia (2014) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.15 [0.07, 0.25] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 7815 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Sharma (2016) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.14 [0.06, 0.25] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 7629 participants |
| School and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Current · Meta-regression by study start year | Meta-regression coefficient -0.13 GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Shirzaiy (2020) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.13 [0.05, 0.22] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 7329 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Probosari (2023) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.14 [0.06, 0.24] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 8050 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Pratibha (2012) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.15 [0.07, 0.25] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 7788 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Parlak (2006) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.15 [0.07, 0.25] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 7136 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Thevara (2020) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.15 [0.06, 0.25] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 8029 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Hali (2023) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.14 [0.06, 0.25] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 6349 participants |
| School and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence One month | Prevalence proportion 0.16 [0.12, 0.2] GRADE not reported 11 studies |
| School and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Three months | Prevalence proportion 0.2 [0.07, 0.39] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| School and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence One year | Prevalence proportion 0.38 [0.28, 0.49] GRADE not reported 6 studies |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Ship (1967) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.11 [0.05, 0.19] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 7786 participants |
| School and university students | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis Point (current) prevalence · Schools and universities, worldwide · Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, omitting Bisar (2021) | Prevalence (proportion) 0.14 [0.06, 0.24] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 8054 participants |
| School and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Six months | Prevalence proportion 0.32 [0.18, 0.48] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Male school and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Current · Male | Prevalence proportion 0.1 [0.04, 0.19] GRADE not reported 7 studies |
| Female school and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Current · Female | Prevalence proportion 0.18 [0.05, 0.36] GRADE not reported 7 studies |
| School students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Current · School students | Prevalence proportion 0.12 [0.02, 0.28] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| University students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Current · College students | Prevalence proportion 0.15 [0.05, 0.29] GRADE not reported 11 studies |
| School and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Current · Clinical examination | Prevalence proportion 0.2 [0.07, 0.39] GRADE not reported 9 studies |
| School and university students | Not reported | None | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence Current · Questionnaire | Prevalence proportion 0.07 [0.03, 0.12] GRADE not reported 7 studies |
Included primary studies 38
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fathima 2024 Personality measurements and ESP tests with cards and drawings. PMID:20242024 | 1947 | 1 other review | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Probosari 2023 An EEG sleep study of a bipolar (manic-depressive) patient with a nocturnal switch process. PMID:202345 | 1977 | 1 other review | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Sharma 2016 Altered biochemical properties of mitochondria in mouse mammary epithelial cells during primary culture. PMID:201649 | 1977 | 1 other review | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Afridi 2014 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Arma 2022 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Aswad 2024 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Azfar 2021 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Bisar 2021 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Cankovic 2015 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Darwis 2024 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Donatsky (1973) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Donatsky 1973 Epidemiologic study on recurrent aphthous ulcerations among 512 Danish dental students. PMID:4528550 | 1973 | this review only | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Fathima (2024) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Hali 2023 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Hameed 2018 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Jahanbani (2012) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Jahanbani 2012 Prevalence of oral lesions and normal variants of the oral mucosa in 12 to 15-year-old students in Tehran, Iran. PMID:22369301 | 2012 | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Manoj (2023) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Manoj 2023 Prevalence and risk factors of recurrent aphthous stomatitis among college students at Mangalore, India. PMID:37214085 | 2023 | this review only | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Mohammed Ali 2019 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Nivia 2014 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Parlak (2006) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Parlak 2006 Prevalence of oral lesions in 13- to 16-year-old students in Duzce, Turkey. PMID:17054767 | 2006 | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Pratibha 2012 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Probosari (2023) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Purnama 2021 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Sawair (2010) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sawair 2010 Does smoking really protect from recurrent aphthous stomatitis? PMID:21151626 | 2010 | this review only | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Sharma (2016) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sharma 2017 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Ship (1967) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ship 1967 The patient with recurrent aphthous ulcers and the patient with recurrent herpes labialis: a study of two population samples. PMID:4292069 | 1967 | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Shirzaiy 2020 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Thevara 2020 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Verma (2023) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Verma 2023 Recurrent Oral Ulcers and Its Association With Stress Among Dental Students in the Northeast Indian Population: A Cross-Sectional… PMID:36939443 | 2023 | this review only | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis | not extracted yet |
| Ziaei (2022) matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ziaei 2022 The association of recurrent aphthous stomatitis with general health and oral health related quality of life among dental students. PMID:36161262 | 2022 | this review only | Recurrent aphthous stomatitis prevalence | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Students enrolled in educational institutions: school (elementary, middle, high school) or university/college students | School students (n=5 studies) and university students (n=23 studies); mean age 18.45 years |
| Intervention | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) |
| Comparison | Not applicable (prevalence) | Not applicable (prevalence) |
| Outcomes | Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis: current (point) prevalence as primary measure; one-month, three-month, six-month and one-year period prevalence as secondary analyses (lifetime prevalence excluded) | Point prevalence (n=16 studies); one-month (n=11), three-month (n=3), six-month (n=3), one-year (n=6) period prevalence |
| Study designs | Observational (cross-sectional) studies; no restriction on time or location | Cross-sectional studies (n=28), published 1962 to 2024; mostly India (10), Iran (4), Indonesia (4) |
| Timing | Current prevalence; period prevalence over 1, 3, 6 and 12 months | Point prevalence; 1, 3, 6 and 12 month period prevalence |