Denture Stomatitis and Candida Albicans in Iranian Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Denture stomatitis is the common form of oral candidiasis, which is seen in the form of diffused inflammation in the areas covered by dentures. Many primary studies report the prevalence of denture stomatitis and candida albicans among patients in the Iranian population; therefore, using meta-analysis is valuable for health policy makers. PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study is to determine the prevalence of denture stomatitis and candida albicans in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Using relevant keywords, national and international databases were searched. After limiting the search strategy and deleting the duplicates, the remaining papers were screened by examining the title and abstract. In order to increase the sensitivity of search reference lists of papers were examined. Finally the index of heterogeneity between studies was defined using Cochran test (Q) and I-squared (I(2)). According to heterogeneity, the random effects model was used to estimate the prevalence of denture stomatitis and candida albicans in Iran. RESULT: The prevalence of denture stomatitis in 12 studies, and the prevalence of candida albicans in patients with denture stomatitis have been reported in 6 studies. The number of sample under investigated and its age range among primary studies included meta- analysis was 2271 individuals and 32.7 till 87.5 years respectively. The prevalence of denture stomatitis in preliminary studies imported to a meta-analysis varied from 1.9% to 54.6%, and its rate in Iran using the meta-analysis was estimated 28.9 % (CI 95%: 18.2-39.6). Also the overall prevalence of candida albicans in patients with denture stomatitis in Iran was estimated 60.6% (CI 95%:50.1-71.2). CONCLUSION: This study showed that the prevalence of denture stomatitis and candida albicans among patient infected denture stomatitis is relatively significant in Iran.