A Hospital Based Prospective Study to Assess the Level of Vitamin B12 and Hemoglobin in Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis Patients

Abstract

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the oral cavity. The etiopathogenesis of RAS is not fully understood. Different etiologies and mechanisms have been postulated, resulting in identification of a variety of predisposing factors. In this study, we investigated the vitamin B12 and hemoglobin levels of patients with RAS and compared the results with healthy controls. Materials & Methods: This is a hospital based prospective study including 50 patients with RAS (RAS group) and 50 healthy controls (control group) in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, and Department of Dermatology, Venereology & Leprosy at S.K. Government Medical College, Sikar, Rajasthan for a period of 8 months. Patients who had had at least one episode of oral ulcerations per month during the preceding years were diagnosed as having RAS. An equal number of healthy controls who were either attendant of patient or staff of hospital were enrolled in this study. Biochemical analysis was done before the RAS treatment was initiated. The results should be regarded as being significant if the P < 0.05. Results: In the RAS group, the mean age of patients was 43.6 ± 13.5 years and 42.50±14.23 years in healthy controls. In our study, 15 (30%) patients were diagnosed as Hb deficient in the study group, as compared to 5 (10%) subjects in healthy controls (P< 0.05). On the other hand, vitamin B12 deficiency was diagnosed in 16 (32%) subjects in the RAS group and 7 (14%) healthy controls (P< 0.05). The RAS group had significantly lower mean Hb levels (P < 0.001 for both men and women) than healthy controls. A significant difference in the mean vitamin B12 level was not demonstrated between the RAS group and the control group. Conclusion: We concluded that vitamin B12 and hemoglobin deficiencies were found higher in patients with RAS compared to the control group.