Prevalence of Oral Precancerous Lesions and Conditions among Rural Population of Karnataka: A Community-based...

Globally, Oral Cancer alone is responsible for more than 6 million deaths each year, with nearly 10 million new cases diagnosed annually. India alone accounts for one-third of the world's oral cancer cases. India is considered as the oral cancer capital of the world, with an estimated 1% of the population having oral premalignant lesions.  Early detection of oral precancerous lesions is practically possible and associated with a high expectation of the prevention of deformity, relapse, and mortality. The present study aims to estimate the magnitude of oral precancerous lesions and conditions among the rural population of Karnataka, India.

A community-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among the 6010 rural population of Belgaum. Participants were recruited through stratified cluster random sampling and were screened for oral precancerous lesions and conditions through visual examination and toluidine blue application. The data on socio-demographic variables, tobacco consumption, medical & dental history was collected and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 22. Logistic regression and Chi-square test were used to analyze inferential data at 95% confidence interval. Descriptive data were analyzed using percentage and proportion.

The majority of participants were females (53.9%), and the mean age was 40 years. The prevalence of precancerous lesions and conditions was 16.38%. Among them, 4.5% had tobacco pouch keratosis, and 4.4% Oral Sub Mucous Fibrosis (OSMF). Age was associated with all types of lesions and conditions and similarly, cigarette and bidi smoking are associated with smoker's palate.  4.2% leukoplakia and smoker's palate were found in 1.6%. A high prevalence of Smokeless tobacco consumption was found, and among them, gutkha was most commonly used. These lesions were associated with age, education, tobacco, type of diet and sharp cusps.

The overall prevalence of precancerous lesions and conditions was high. It was high among the elderly, except for OSMF which was more prevalent among the younger age group.