title: Prevalence of tongue lesions in Hungarian children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of tongue lesions in Hungarian children in relation to age, sex, systemic diseases and allergies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1017 preschool and school children aged 1-14 years were examined. The age, sex and tongue lesions diagnosed were recorded together with any history of systemic diseases and allergies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Tongue lesions were found in 35.11% of all the children examined. Fissured tongue was the most frequent lesion (29.2%), apparently associated with age and sex. It occurred more commonly in boys, and in older children, than in girls and younger children. Geographic tongue was found in 5.7%, occurred more often in boys, and a relationship existed between fissured and geographic tongue. Among the children with geographic tongue 44.82% also had fissured tongue. These findings agree in general with the epidemiological data reported on population samples elsewhere in the world. Crenated tongue occurred in 0.68%, central papillary atrophy in 0.78%, and partial ankyloglossia in 0.88% of the children examined: confirming the rarity of these lesions. Although there was no obvious correlation with systemic diseases, geographic tongue appeared to be coincident with a history of allergic diathesis in some cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In some cases early recognition of tongue lesions may provide useful diagnostic markers for some diseases.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral Biology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vörös-Balog
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vincze
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bánóczy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D014060:Tongue Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*