Prevalence of smokeless tobacco use and oral pre-malignant lesions among heavy load truck drivers and general male population in Mumbai, India

Abstract

Background:A majority (89 percent, 268.6 million) of smokeless tobacco users are from Southeast Asia, which also has the highest oral cancer rates in the world.One of the highest smokeless tobacco use prevalence and oral cancer incidence is found in India, with India contributing approximately 30% of all new oral cancer cases globally. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use and oral pre-malignant lesions among heavy load truck drivers and the general population from Mumbai, India; and to study the association between smokeless tobacco use and oral pre-malignant lesions in this population. Methods:Secondary data analysis of two datasets – one belonging to truck driver population and the other to general population (obtained from the Indian Dental Association) – was conductedusing appropriate statistical methods. Results: The prevalence of smokeless tobacco use was 75.3% among truck drivers and 28.3% in the general population. The prevalence of oral pre-malignant lesions in truck drivers was found to be 17.5% and 15.7% in general population. The odds ratio for presence of oral lesions and smokeless tobacco use was 2.84 (95% CI = 0.578 – 27.424, p-value = 0.22) in truck drivers, and 11.7 (95% CI = 4.475 – 32.503, p-value <0.001) in general population. Conclusions:This study did provide a good insight on the prevalence of smokeless tobacco useand oral lesions among Indian truck drivers. Keywords:Tobacco, Smokeless; Mouth Neoplasms; Leukoplakia; Diagnosis, Oral; Oral Health