Prevalence of Oral Precancerous Lesions in Tobacco and Areca Nut Habituated Patients in Barpeta District, Assam, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Oral cancer has become one of the leading causes of death and disease globally as well as in India. Tobacco consumption is responsible for nearly half of all cancers in men and nearly one-fourth of cancers in women in India and more than two-third of oral cancers are directly attributable to tobacco use. Early detection of precancerous lesions and tobacco cessation activities, if conducted together can have high impact on reducing incidence of oral cancer. Aim: To study prevalence of oral precancerous lesions in tobacco and areca nut habituated patients in Barpeta district, Assam, India. Materials and Methods: The present observational, crosssectional, hospital-based study was conducted on Outpatient Department (OPD) patients of Dentistry Department of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Government Medical College. College, Barpeta, Assam, India, from June 2021 to June 2022. Patients with tobacco and areca nut chewing habits were selected as study participants. Total number of study participants were 404. Oral cavity screening was done to detect oral precancerous lesion. History of tobacco and areca nut chewing habits were recorded in terms of gender, age, form of tobacco, duration and frequency. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Prevalence of oral precancerous lesions in tobacco consuming patients was 3.46% in smoke form and 9.9% in smokeless form. Premalignant lesions had been seen predominantly in male. Among the premalignant lesions prevalence of oral leukoplakia was highest (22.27%) followed by erythroplakia (4.46%). Overall, prevalence of precancerous lesions in tobacco and areca nut habituated patient in the present study was 37.62%. The association between prevalence of oral precancerous lesion with frequency and duration of habits was statistically insignificant (χ2 =7.167, p-value=1.000). Conclusion: In the present study, prevalence of oral precancerous lesion in tobacco and areca nut consuming patients in Barpeta district was quite high. The findings from this present study can be used to design cohort study to further understand the relation between precancerous lesions in tobacco and areca nut habituated patients.