Reduced dietary intake of vitamin B12 and folate in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

BACKGROUND: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), commonly referred to as canker sores, is a very common and painful oral mucosal disease. Although the etiology of RAS is not well understood, a number of factors may play a role, including nutritional deficiencies. The objective of this study was to compare dietary vitamin intake in RAS patients to that of a control group.

METHODS: One hundred subjects, who had suffered at least three episodes of minor RAS in the previous 12 months, completed a detailed Diet History Questionnaire designed and validated by the US National Institutes of Health. DietCalc software was used to calculate daily dietary intakes of nine different vitamins in the study subjects. Daily intakes were energy-adjusted and compared to age- and gender-matched nutrient intake data on 9033 subjects from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

RESULTS: The study subjects had significantly lower daily intake of vitamin B12 (P < 0.0002) and folate (P < 0.0001) as compared to the controls.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis are more likely to have lower dietary intakes of vitamin B12 and folate than a control group. These results support and extend previous studies indicating a link between the etiology of RAS and hematological deficiencies of vitamin B12 and folate. These findings suggest that consuming sufficient amounts of these vitamins may be a useful strategy to reduce the number and/or duration of RAS episodes.