Prevalence of soft-tissue lesions among women in sex work in the red light area of Pune, India: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Aim and Objective:The women in sex work have no felt need for oral health and much of the stress has always been on sexually transmitted infections (STIs). There is a need for a baseline data for the oral lesions of these women to further assist in the policy formulations and training of personnel for the identification of the oral conditions which need treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of oral lesions among female sex workers in the red light area of Pune, India.Materials and Methods:The Community Periodontal Index and loss of attachment (LA) index was recorded along with the other soft-tissue lesions as per the WHO Oral Health Assessment from 1997. The calculated sample was 350. Systematic sampling technique was followed. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis and analysis was done using SPSS package 16.0.Results:A total of 110 (31.4%) women had leukoplakia, 6 women (1.7%) had ulceration, 41 (11.7%) women had candidiasis, and 1 woman (0.3%) had swollen gingiva. As the age increased, there was an increase in the number of pockets. The percentage of women above 60 years had higher LA.Conclusion:The women in sex work are mainly spoken to about HIV and STIs. With almost all of these women requiring some or the other form of treatment, utilization of the available dental workforce with both government and public partnership could be the route.

Sexual Behavior and Knowledge Level of Commercial Sex Workers Influence the Spread of Sexually Transmitted Infections

“…Opportunistic infections generally occur when the CD4 cell count <200 cells / mm. 11,12 The other lesions associated with STIs found in this study include ulcers, suspect Linear Gingival Erythema (LGE), suspect Kaposi sarcoma and Oral hairy leukoplakia. Ucler's case ranks the second highest prevalence found after suspect candidiasis.…”

“…The results of research conducted by Rahmayanti (2013) showed that oral lesions that are often found in HIV patients are oral candidiasis. A recent study conducted by Muralidharan (2018) showed that commercial sex workers in the City of Pune India found 31.4% of cases of oral hairy leukoplakia and 11.7% of cases of candidiasis. In a study conducted by Agita (2011) conducted at Dr. Kariadi Semarang showed 79% of candidiasis found in patients with HIV / AIDS.…”