Abstract

VARELA CENTELLES, Pablo I.; ROMERO MENDEZ, Amparo; VARELA CENTELLES, Almudena  and  RODRIGUEZ GONZALEZ, Victoria. Risk of oral cancer attributable to alcohol and tobacco consumption in the Burela Health Zone (Lugo). RCOE [online]. 2007, vol.12, n.3, pp.177-181. ISSN 1138-123X.

Background: Wide differences in oral cancer prevalence have been reported that may account for disparities in alcohol and tobacco consumption. Thus, the aim of this study was to ascertain the risk of oral cancer attributable to alcohol and tobacco consumption in a primary health zone. Methods and materials: A case-control study of oral cancer patients treated at the Galician Cancer Centre from 1996 to 2000. Controls: primary care patients, selected by a non-random, consecutive method, from those treated at the Burela Primary Care Clinics in March 2000. Results: The number of case smokers was: 83.8% (n=62), vs. 26.4% (n=32) in the controls (p=0,000). The number of cigarettes consumed per day was (37.43±25.99 vs. 17.67±13) p=0.000. The risk of oral cancer was 5.90 fold among smokers. Out of every 100 oral cancers in smokers, 83 could be attributed to smoking tobacco. The risk of oral cancer attributable to alcohol was 0.23 with a relative risk of 2.04 and the etiological risk fraction was 0.51. Conclusion: The dentist plays a key role in providing information, counselling and help to those patients with risk habits.

Keywords : Oral cancer; Alcohol; Tobacco; Prevention.

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