title: Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions among chewing tobacco users: A cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The increasing use of chewing tobacco (CT) in the last 10-12 years has led to an increased incidence of potentially malignant oral disorders and frank oral malignancies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the frequency of oral mucosal lesions and to correlate the dose-response relationship among CT users of Bengaluru North province.
  
  
  METHODS
  This population-based cross-sectional study was conducted among a randomized cluster sample of adults in low-income group (slums), of Bengaluru North, Karnataka state, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine hundred and one subjects, all CT users were surveyed in this cross-sectional study. A prestructured questionnaire which included information on type and amount of CT used, duration and frequency of use, and location of placement of tobacco in the oral cavity was used for assessment, which was followed by oral examination for the presence of lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to assess the statistical significance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 901 subjects with CT habits, 55.8% revealed no clinically detectable oral mucosal changes and 44.1% showed mucosal changes of which 63.8% were males and 36.1% were females. The most common finding was chewers mucositis (59.5%) followed by submucous fibrosis (22.8%), leukoplakia (8%), lichenoid reaction (6.5%), oral cancer (2.7%), and lichen planus (0.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides information about different CT habits and associated mucosal lesions among this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Diagnosis and Radiology, M S Ramaiah Dental College and Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Sujatha S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Radha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prashanth
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Yashodha Devi
authors.forename: Nidhi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chugh
authors.forename: Aninditya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Nithin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D015995:Prevalence; D014030:Tobacco, Smokeless