Prevalence of Oral Submucous Fibrosis in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Odisha - A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND Oral Sub Mucous Fibrosis (OSMF) is the most common precancerous lesion prevalent in Asian subcontinent and India. It raises concern among oral healthcare professionals because among all potentially malignant oral lesions and conditions, this precancerous condition has highest rates of malignant transformation. The aim of our study is to evaluate the prevalence of OSMF in habitual areca nut chewers among the patients attending the out-patient Department of Dentistry of Veer Surendra Sai Medical College and Hospital, Burla. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted in dental out-patient department of Veer Surendra Sai Medical College and Hospital, Burla for a period of 3 years (January 2015 - December 2017). Individuals with a clinical diagnosis of Oral Submucous Fibrosis according to WHO were included in the study, after obtaining an informed consent and approval of Hospital Ethical Committee. A total of 36000 patients were screened, out of which 457 were included in the study. Specialist examiners carried out all oral examinations who were accustomed with oral mucosal lesions found among the local population. A sterile mouth mirror and examination gloves were used for intraoral examination. On the basis of age group, habit duration, and type of habit, the study was carried out. Shapiro‑Wilk test was used for assessing data distribution and Chi‑square test for comparing the categorical data. RESULTS The prevalence of OSMF was found to be more common among males than females, with 99.14 % in males as compared with 0.87 % in females. Majority of the patients were in the age group of 15 - 25 years (213 patients out of 457) which accounted for 46.6 % with most them in Stage II (69.01 %). 49.23 % of patients had habit duration of 3 - 7 years (225 out of 457) with the majority of them in stage II (60.88 %). CONCLUSIONS Increased occurrence of OSMF among the general population in India may be attributed to the sale of areca nut products especially gutkha and pan masala in public is precisely being targeted for the younger generation. Primary healthcare professionals and dentists should also help to cessation of these habits among the public by participating in the programs targeted to this cause. KEYWORDS OSMF, Prevalence, Inter-Incisal Mouth Opening

Salivary Expression of HIF-1 α in Oral Submucous Fibrosis

“…In this study, out of 30 cases 20 were males (67%) and 10 (33%) were females which clearly showed a male predominance. Similar observations have been reported in other studies 21,22 . This is due to easy accessibility of areca nut based products, use of areca nut and related products by co-workers/closely associated people at work place or people in the immediate surroundings.…”

Expression of Salivary HIF-1α Levels Among the Clinical Stages of Oral Submucous Fibrosis

“…In this study we found a significant association of disease severity with mouth opening i.e., there was a decrease in the inter-incisal mouth opening of the patients from stage I of OSMF to stage II, stage III, and stage IV respectively. The mean mouth opening of patients with different stages of OSMF was by studies reporting the mean mouth opening of patients with advanced stages of OSMF to be less than 15mm 18,19 .…”