EVALUATION OF ASSOCIATION OF DIABETES MELLITUS WITH HEAD AND NECK CANCER: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Malignant neoplasm is a major cause of death in developed countries, and its incidence continues to grow. Diabetes mellitus is a serious and leading health problem. Recent studies demonstrated that Diabetes mellitus (DM) was associated with a higher risk of Head and Neck cancer. Only a few population-based studies, especially in Asian populations, have addressed these issues. Thus, this study aimed at assessing the relationship between Diabetes mellitus and Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) in reference to their socio-economic status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted on 483 HNC patients aged above 15 years. The data was collected from patients reporting to Mahavir Cancer Institute & Research Centre, Patna, and Rama Dental College Hospital and Research Center, Kanpur. Blood sugar level was tested to assess the status of diabetes mellitus. The demographic details such as place, social-economic status (SES), age and sex were recorded. Control group of 100 people aged above 15 years were selected with habits of using tobacco products and without any oral precancerous lesion/conditions. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 483 patients, 70 patients (14.4%) had DM showing no overall relationship with HNC. A major number of HNC with DM was more in high socioeconomic status patients 41.7% (p<0.05), showing strong association whereas for low SES it was 3.4% (p>0.05). Out of overall Diabetes mellitus (DM), there were 77.1% of male and 22.8% were female. CONCLUSION: Diabetes was weakly associated with HNC, but we observed evidence of a relationship with the socioeconomic group. People with HNC and low socioeconomic status showed less association with diabetes than people with high socioeconomic status. KEY WORDS: Socioeconomic status, Diabetes mellitus, Head and Neck Cancer