Oral Cancer Knowledge among a Sample of Elderly People in Depok City, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Objective: To determine the level of knowledge concerning oral cancer among a sample of elderly people with various sociodemographic characters, behavior, and dental visits in Depok City, Indonesia. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study of oral cancer awareness was conducted among 100 elderly people in Depok City using an intervieweradministered questionnaire. We collected information regarding sociodemographic data regarding age, gender, marital status, education, health insurance, risk factors and early signs of oral cancer, and questions related to lifestyle factors relevant to oral cancer, including smoking, drinking alcohol, tobacco chewing, betel quid chewing, and dental visits. Data were analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences and presented through descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistical significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: 64% of respondents have poor knowledge of the oral cancer risk factors, while only 25% of respondents have sound knowledge of the early signs of oral cancer. There was a significant difference in the level of oral cancer knowledge according to gender (p=0.01), level of education (p=0.008), smoking behavior (p=0.03), and dental visits (p=0.01). Conclusion: The oral cancer knowledge among elderly people in Depok City is still lacking. Further, some sociodemographic factors influence the level of oral cancer knowledge.

Public awareness of oral cancer among adults in Jakarta, Indonesia

“…GLOBOCAN 2012 estimated that the incidence of oral cancer for both sexes in Indonesia was 2.3/100 000 per annum . Despite many published studies worldwide evaluating oral cancer awareness, such studies have not been previously done in Indonesia, except on a small on a sample of older adults population in the Depok region . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate oral cancer awareness among adults in Jakarta, Indonesia with a total of 1000 participants.…”

“…GLOBOCAN 2012 estimated that the incidence of oral cancer for both sexes in Indonesia was 2.3/100 000 per annum. 14 Despite many published studies worldwide evaluating oral cancer awareness, such studies have not been previously done in Indonesia, except on a small on a sample of older adults population in the Depok region 15. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Awareness of oral cancer by sex, age, education, occupation, economic status, and history of dental visits Dentists' practice of providing information related to the risk of tobacco use and alcohol consumption to patients…”

Tobacco and Alcohol Use and Clinical Staging of Head and Neck Tumors

“…Knowledge of the epidemiology and factors associated with this disease is the key to the planning of prevention programs that will favor the reduction of these harmful indicators [20,21]. The synergistic tobacco and alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing this neoplasm [9].…”