Prevalence of Tongue Lesions in the Namakkal and Erode Districts: A Prospective Study

Background Lesions of the tongue are markers of several systemic diseases and mirror the general health. In the Namakkal and Erode districts of Tamil Nadu - regions with high tobacco/areca nut usage and limited oral health infrastructure - prevalence data on tongue lesions remain sparse. Aim This study aimed to find out how frequently common tongue lesions occur in patients from these areas. Methods A total of 1,250 patients were examined, of which 880 presented with various tongue lesions. Demographic details and clinical examination findings of the lesions were recorded in a spreadsheet and subsequently analyzed using SPSS version 26.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results The study population predominantly comprised middle-aged adults (31-50 years), with a male predominance (53.2%). Geographic tongue (32.5%) and fissured tongue (24.3%) were the major benign tongue lesions observed among others. Geographic tongue was almost equally prevalent in males (31.6%) and females (33.5%). Fissured tongue was more common in males (26.1%). Anemic glossitis was notably higher in females (18.0%) compared to males (8.1%). The prevalence of potentially malignant disorders in the study population was relatively low, affecting 8.2% (n = 72) of participants. Conclusion The result of the present study revealed that the majority of the tongue lesions were benign rather than malignant. Despite the limitations, this study provided essential data from the Namakkal and Erode districts of Tamil Nadu outpatients. Age-, gender-, and habit-stratified results emphasized the necessity of tailormade approaches for the integration of educational, preventive, and treatment-oriented approaches into public health campaigns to reduce progression risks in high-vulnerability cohorts.