# Assessment of the prevalence of Behcet's disease in recurrent aphthous ulceration worldwide: a systematic review

## TL;DR

This study finds that Behcet's disease is relatively rare among people with recurring mouth ulcers, especially in regions from the Mediterranean to the Far East.

## Contribution

This is the first systematic review to assess the global prevalence of Behcet's syndrome in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

## Key findings

- Behcet's syndrome prevalence in RAS patients is low, with 141 cases out of 2841 participants.
- The condition is equally common in both sexes and more frequently reported in the Mediterranean to Far East region.
- Seven high-quality cross-sectional studies were included in the analysis.

## Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Behcet's syndrome in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS).

A search was performed in Scopus, Medline/PubMed, The Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases, according to PRISMA. In addition, a search was carried out in the DANS Easy Archive to access gray literature and a manual search in the reference list of included studies was used as an additional resource to refine the search. Cross-sectional studies in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis evaluating the diagnosis of Behcet's syndrome were analyzed to identify prevalence. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of the articles.

The study design, sample size, sex, International Study Group (ISG) diagnostic criteria and prevalence of the syndrome were evaluated. After screening and reading the articles in full, 7 met the inclusion criteria. The articles involved a total of 2841 participants with recurrent aphthous ulcerations, with 141 having a diagnosis of Behcet's syndrome. Studies were of good quality as assessed by the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for cross-sectional studies.

The prevalence of Behcet's syndrome in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is generally low, with similar frequency in both sexes and more common in the range of countries that extends from the Mediterranean Basin to the Far East.

Key words:Behcet's syndrome, aphthous stomatitis, prevalence.