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Oral mucosal lesions: findings from the Australian National Survey of Adult Oral Health
Author(s) -
Do LG,
Spencer AJ,
Dost F,
Farah CS
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
australian dental journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1834-7819
pISSN - 0045-0421
DOI - 10.1111/adj.12143
Subject(s) - medicine , epidemiology , population , demographics , demography , oral health , australian population , malignancy , multivariate analysis , environmental health , pathology , family medicine , sociology
Background The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions ( OML s) and factors associated with these has not previously been reported in the Australian population. This study aimed to report on the prevalence of OML s in Australian adults and to evaluate their association with socio‐demographic factors. Methods This study utilized data from the Australian National Survey of Adult Oral Health 2004–06, which employs a multi‐stage, stratified random sample selection procedure. Information on socio‐demographics, smoking and presence of OML s were collected using telephone interview, self‐reported questionnaires and comprehensive oral examination. A multivariate regression model was generated to estimate effect of factors on the prevalence of non‐ulcerated OML s. Results A total of 3551 dentate adult Australians had complete data for this analysis. Over 20% of study participants presented with an OML on the day of examination. The prevalence of suspected malignancy was less than 1% and over 17% for non‐ulcerated OML s. Prevalence of non‐ulcerated OML s was associated with age, gender, residential location, household income and smoking. Conclusions The study reported that epidemiological survey can provide useful information on OML s. Certain population groups had a higher risk of having the condition. Preventing smoking uptake and smoking cessation can reduce the prevalence of OML s in the population.