Correlation between anxiety, depression, and recurrent aphthous stomatitis

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is one of the most common painful diseases affecting the oral mucosa. The role of psychosocial factors especially depression and anxiety in RAS is controversial. Objective: This study was performed to determine the association between anxiety, depression and RAS. Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was carried out at Department of Oral Medicine of Zahedan Dental School from May 2007 to May 2008. Ninety patients were evaluated in three groups marked as RAS, negative control and positive control groups using Beck Anxiety (BAI) and Beck Depression (BDI) Questionnaires. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey tests. Findings: RAS patients and positive controls had significantly higher anxiety and depression levels compared to the negative controls (P< 0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was found in anxiety level between the RAS and positive control groups. In contrast, there was a significant difference in depression levels between the RAS and positive control groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: Regarding the data found in study, It seems that the psychosocial factors may play an important role in causation of RAS. These factors may form a starting point for initiation of various immune reactions, shown to be contributory to the pathogenesis of RAS.