Oral mucosal lesions and their association with sociodemographic, behavioral, and health status factors

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of oralmucosal lesions and their associations with sociodemographic, health,and behavioral factors in a southern Brazilian population. Informationwas collected from participants (n = 801) using a structuredquestionnaire during an oral cancer screening campaign held at anagribusiness show in southern Brazil in 2009. Data were described usingfrequency distributions or means and standard deviations. Associationsbetween independent variables and outcomes were assessed usingthe Chi-squared test. A total of 465 lesions were detected (actiniccheilitis: n = 204, 25.5%; candidiasis: n = 50, 6.2%; fibrous inflammatoryhyperplasia: n = 42, 5.2%; ulceration, n = 33, 4.1%; hemangioma: n = 14,1.7%; leukoplakia: n = 11, 1.4%). Candidiasis, actinic cheilitis, andfibrous inflammatory hyperplasia were associated significantly withliteracy. Actinic cheilitis was also associated significantly with sunexposure and hat use, and leukoplakia was associated with smoking.The high frequency of oral mucosal lesions observed highlights theimportance of education about risk factors.