The Prevalence and Correlates of Fissured Tongue Among Outpatients in Andkhoy City, Afghanistan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Fissured tongue is a common manifestation of the tongue, marked by the presence of multiple prominent grooves or fissures on the dorsal surface of the tongue. However, there is a lack of studies focusing on the prevalence and factors associated with fissured tongue among patients attending an outpatient clinic in Afghanistan. Aim: The purpose of the current study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with fissured tongue and its effects on the general health of adult outpatients in Afghanistan. Patients and Methods:The cross-sectional survey was conducted among outpatient populations in Andkhoy City, Afghanistan, between September 2019 and December 2019. A convenience technique was applied by including 1182 patient aged 18-80 years. Socio-economic status, smoking, nass use (smokeless tobacco use) and medical data were collected using face-toface interviews. We used logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with fissured tongue. A convenience technique was applied by including patient aged 18-80 years. Results: The studied population consisted of 1182 participants, of whom 573 (48.5%) were males and 609 (51.5%) females. The prevalence of fissured tongue was 27.2% (95% CI: 24.7-29.9%) with males having significantly higher prevalence than females (47.5%, 95% CI: 43.3-51.6% versus 8.2%, 95% CI: 6.2-10.7%, p<0.001). Male participants (OR=7.1, 95% CI: 4.8-10.3), diabetes mellitus (OR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.3) and smokeless tobacco use (OR=12.0, 95% CI: 8.1-17.6) were the only variables independently associated with fissured tongue. Conclusion:This study suggested that there was a high rate of fissured tongue among an outpatient clinic in Andkhoy, Afghanistan. Male gender, diabetes mellitus, and nass consumption were associated with fissured tongue. Therefore, these factors might usefully be targeted in local health promotion, prevention and early intervention programs.

Prevalence of Tongue Normal Variant Lesions in Geriatric Patients with Hypertension in Surabaya: A Multicenter Observational Study

“…4 Contradicting with our result a study conducted in Afghanistan showed that fissured tongue coexistent with diabetes mellitus followed by hypertension. 17 In comparison, in the Dental Hospital Airlangga University, the prevalence of fissured tongue in healthy elderly (without degenerative diseases, including hypertension) also showed similar result with a percentage of 93.1%. 18 Based on the result of this study, elderly who take amlodipine were as many as 125 (8.57%) and in proportion with the numbers of participant who suffered fissured tongue.…”

Oral Manifestations: A Reliable Indicator for Undiagnosed Diabetes Mellitus Patients

“…Fissures develop on the dorsal surface of the tongue due to inadequate glycemic control, immunological changes, alteration in microcirculation, and salivary flow. 34,37 Manifestations like fissure tongue were prevalent in patients with higher HbA1c levels, accounting to 91% of diabetic patients. The findings of our study are consistent with the results of the study done on the Japanese population by Hsu et al 20 Furthermore, in the current study, there was a greater prevalence of both yellow (57.6%) and pale yellow (29.4%) tongue coatings in patients having high levels of HbA1c.…”

Aponeurosis linguae—Myocutaneous or myotendinous junctions of skeletal muscle fibres in the human tongue?

“…Different factors are associated with these two patterns (Dafar et al, 2016 ). The geographic tongue is characterized by the loss of filiform papillae and by habitual factors, for example chewing tobacco (Assimakopoulos et al, 2002 ; Dafar et al, 2016 ); the genesis of fissures is unknown, discussing genetic factors and systemic diseases (Dawson, 1974 ; Eidelman et al, 1976 ; Guggenheimer et al, 2000 ; Hamrah et al, 2021 ; Marcoval et al, 2012 ; Monshi et al, 2021 ). The papillae in fissured tongues are preserved and the tongue shows a higher accumulation of inflammatory cells (Kullaa‐Mikkonen & Sorvari, 1986 ).…”