The prevalence of burning mouth syndrome: a population-based study

Abstract

Background Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is defined as symptoms of persistent burning in the mouth without objective findings accounting for the symptoms. Objectives To calculate the point prevalence of BMS in Olmsted County, Minnesota, on December 31, 2010. Methods The Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) medical records linkage system was used to identify BMS cases diagnosed or potentially diagnosed before December 31, 2009. Inclusion criteria were subjective oral discomfort, normal oral examination, and documented BMS diagnosis by a REP physician. Results In total, 149 BMS cases were confirmed, representing age- and sex-adjusted point prevalence of BMS in Olmsted County of 0.11%, or 105.6 (95% CI, 88.6–122.6) per 100,000 persons. Age-adjusted prevalence in women was significantly higher than men: 168.6 (95% CI, 139.0–198.2) vs 35.9 (95% CI, 21.4–50.3) per 100,000 persons (P<.001). The highest prevalence was in women aged 70 through 79 years (527.9 per 100,000 persons). Mean (SD) age at BMS diagnosis was 59.4 (15.1) years (range, 25–90 years). Conclusions To our knowledge, we provide the first report of population-based BMS prevalence. The data show that BMS most commonly affects women older than 50 years, and when defined through diagnostic criteria, it is less prevalent than described previously.

Clinical characteristics and therapeutic response in patients with Burning Mouth Syndrome: accompanying 2 years

“…Regarding the anatomical region of burning sensation, 58.3% of the patients reported higher frequency in the apex of tongue, even though the literature shows that the most common complaint was bilateral in the tongue sides 9,10 .…”

“…The most affected anatomical regions are tongue, followed by palate, lower lip and jugal mucosa 8 . Complaints are normally bilateral but it may also occur unilaterally 9,10 .…”

“…Published prevalence data as scarce and variable (0.7 to 4.6%) 10 , and this variability in the numbers reflect the difficulty in stablishing a criterion for the BMS diagnosis 13 .…”

Mucosal Lesions in an Allergy Practice

“…Symptoms are often present on the tongue, distributed bilaterally, and occasionally associated with xerostomia and dysgeusia [59]. BMS has repeatedly been shown to be common in women over the age of 50 [59][60][61][62]. The etiology is unknown, but several mechanisms have been proposed with hormonal, psychiatric, and neuropathic bases [63][64][65].…”

Burning Mouth Syndrome –Latest update

“…Ample research shows that prevalence of BMS varies considerably, between 0.7% and 15%, depending on the population investigated 5,[7][8][9][11][12][13][14] . For example, one study found age-adjusted prevalence rates of 18.8 and 3.7 cases in women and men, respectively in 100,000 people 15 , while another investigation discovered that BMS occurs in 1 in every 1,000 subjects, mainly in women over 50 years old 16 . Also, the evaluation of 3,243 medical records found that 0.99% of patients could have BMS 17 .…”