Prevalence of Oral Sub Mucous Fibrosis among Industrial Workers in Ahmedabad Gujarat A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Tobacco usage in any form can contribute toward the development of various precancerous and cancerous lesions. Oral sub-mucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a chronic precancerous lesion which has the highest rates of malignant transformation. Therefore, the present study was conducted among industrial workers to observe the effect of various forms of smokeless tobacco (SLT) usage and development of OSMF. newlineMATERIALS AND METHOD: With this study, we aimed to determine the use of various forms of chewable/ smokeless tobacco and its relationship with various factors affecting the lives of 3998 industrial workers in the form of staging and development and prevalence of the disease, economic status, gender, psychological factors, educational qualification and nature of work. A newly constructed and self administered questionnaire with a reliability of 0.82 was used to collect data from study participants keeping in mind the inclusion criteria. The clinical diagnosis(the presence of fibrous bands and blanching) was performed. Mouth opening was recorded by Vernier calliper. Statistical analysis was done using the Chi-square test and statistical significance was set at P and#8804; 0.05 newlineRESULT: Prevalence of OSMF was 28.91% among industrial workers of Ahmedabad, Gujarat State. The mean age of the study population was 38.341 ± 9.89 years. OSMF was reported in 48.76% (1156) of participants who were consuming one or other forms of SLT. Fibrous bands were seen in 59.6% of participants chewing areca nut, 56.8% of participants who consumed pan masala, and 50.6% of participants consuming khaini. 40.50% of participants who chewed gutkha developed blanching over their intraoral mucosa. Fibrous bands and blanching of the oral mucosa were newlinev newlineobserved in 89.4% and 88.3% of participants, respectively, who consumed all four types of SLT. newlineCONCLUSION: Consumption of SLT has a strong correlation with the development of OSMF, especially with the use of gutkha, pan masala, and khaini. There is a need for public education programs among such vulnerabl