Original articleA Population-Based Study of the Incidence of Burning Mouth Syndrome
Section snippets
Study Setting
The present study was approved by the institutional review boards of Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center. We assessed cases of BMS within the population of Olmsted County, Minnesota, made available through the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP). The REP is a medical record linkage system for the patient records of Olmsted County residents, which has accumulated all medical information on each patient since 1966. Practically the entire Olmsted County population receives care at a REP
Results
Between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2010, a total of 482 patients were identified as having a potential BMS diagnosis. Of the 482 patients, 191 were identified as having had a first-ever diagnosis of BMS as a resident of Olmsted County. By using our study criteria, we confirmed 169 incident cases. One hundred forty-two of the 169 patients were women (84.0%), and the women to men ratio was 5.2 (Table 2). One hundred fifty-eight patients were white (93.5%). The mean age at diagnosis was
Discussion
The present population-based study of BMS calculated an overall annual age- and sex-adjusted incidence of BMS of 11.4 per 100,000 person-years in Olmsted County from 2000 through 2010. To our knowledge, no previously published study has reported incidence rates of BMS. Postmenopausal women aged 50 to 89 years had the highest incidence of the disease, with the maximal rate observed in women aged 70 to 79 years. BMS incidence is associated with both advanced age and female sex. In addition, the
Conclusion
We report the first population-based incidence study of BMS. The data reveal that BMS is an uncommon disease highly associated with both advancing age and female sex. Typical symptom characteristics indicate mild, symmetrical, bilateral burning pain of the tongue that is continuous throughout the day. Our findings provide a foundation for further studies of BMS epidemiology. Further studies should explore the potential effect of factors such as concurrent disease and medication use on the
Acknowledgment
We thank Barbara A. Abbott, the Rochester Epidemiology Project retrieval specialist, for her expert assistance on this project.
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Grant Support: This study was made possible by the Rochester Epidemiology Project (grant number R01-AG034676; Principal Investigator: Walter A. Rocca, MD, MPH, and Barbara P. Yawn, MD, MSc).