Aphthous stomatitis countries. Within nations, it is more common in higher socioeconomic groups. Males and females are affected in an equal ratio, and the peak age of onset between 10 and 19 years. About 80% of people with aphthous stomatitis first developed the condition before the age of 30. There have been reports of ethnic variation. For example, in the United States, aphthous stomatitis may be three times more common in white-skinned people than black-skinned people. "Aphthous affectations" and "aphthous ulcerations" of the mouth are mentioned several times in the treatise "Of the Epidemics" (part of the Hippocratic corpus, in the 4th
Aphthous stomatitis this condition. The origin of the word "canker" is thought to have been influenced by Latin, Old English, Middle English and Old North French. In Latin, "cancer" translates to "malignant tumor" or literally "crab" (related to the likening of sectioned tumors to the limbs of a crab). The closely related word in Middle English and Old North French, "chancre", now more usually applied to syphilis, is also thought to be involved. Despite this etymology, aphthous stomatitis is not a form of cancer but rather entirely benign. An aphtha (plural "aphthae") is a non specific term that refers to an ulcer