Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33409687›Full record

SynthesisClinical oral investigations2021

Association between serum zinc levels and recurrent aphthous stomatitis: a meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.

Sadeq A Al-Maweri, Esam Halboub, Hesham Mohammed Al-Sharani, Anas Shamala, Ahlam Al-Kamel, Mohammed Al-Wesabi, Abdullkhaleg Albashari, Amani Al-Sharani, Saleem Abdulrab

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Clinical oral investigations, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07565181 (Evaluation of Zinc Oxide Ointment in Treatment of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07565181 phase4completednot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Evaluation of Zinc Oxide Ointment in Treatment of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis

TypeinterventionalSponsorFaculty of Dental Medicine for GirlsRan2025 to 2026Enrolled100ConditionsRecurrent Aphthous StomatitisArmszinc oxide, Placabo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Review
  5. Management of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis: An Indian Expert Consensus.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2023
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.

Sadeq A Al-MaweriDepartment of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, AlFarabi Colleges of Dentistry and Nursing, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Sadali05@hotmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4932-1377
Esam HalboubDepartment of Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Sana'a University, Sana'a, Yemen.
Hesham Mohammed Al-SharaniDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, Ibb University, Ibb, Yemen.
Anas ShamalaDepartment of Preventive and Biomedical Science, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Science and Technology, Sana'a, Yemen.
Ahlam Al-KamelDepartment of Preventive and Biomedical Science, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Science and Technology, Sana'a, Yemen.
Mohammed Al-WesabiDepartment of Preventive and Biomedical Science, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Science and Technology, Sana'a, Yemen.
Abdullkhaleg AlbashariSchool and Hospital of Stomatology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
Amani Al-SharaniDepartment of Preventive and Biomedical Science, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Science and Technology, Sana'a, Yemen.
Saleem AbdulrabMadinat Khalifa Health Center, Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
University of Science and Technology · YEAlfaisal University · SAHarbin Medical University · CNPrimary Health Care · QASana'a University · YEWenzhou Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe present meta-analysis sought to investigate the potential association between zinc levels and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS).

methodsA comprehensive search of online databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)) was conducted to identify all English and Chinese studies published up to August 2020. All case-control studies that assessed plasma/serum zinc levels were eligible for inclusion. Data were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software version 2.2.046 (Biostat, Englewood, NJ, USA). Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was conducted with the trial sequential analysis program.

resultsNineteen case-control studies, involving 1079 RAS cases and 965 controls, were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results of 19 studies showed that zinc level was significantly lower in RAS patients than in healthy controls (weighted difference in means = - 21.092, 95% CI - 26.695 to - 15.490, I

conclusionThe results suggest a significant association between low serum zinc levels and the occurrence of RAS. Although TSA confirmed a solid conclusion, conducting large-scale studies with the highest standards of quality is encouraged. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Determining zinc levels should be considered in diagnosis, management, and prevention of RAS.

Indexed as

Stomatitis, AphthousAsian PeopleCase-Control StudiesChinaHumansZincZincAphthous stomatitisAssociationMeta-analysisZinc

Identifiers

PMID33409687
OpenAlexW3120687132

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.