Observed Risk Factors and the Prevalence of Potential Oral Malignant Lesions among a North Indian Population

INTRODUCTION: The menace of oral cancer has become a public health concern and its prevalence is increasing with every passing day, making it the sixth most common cancer across the globe. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for potential oral malignant disorders in a middle aged north Indian population.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adopting a Cross-sectional study design, this study examined a total of 944 participants in the Delhi-NCR region and males formed a majority of the population (569, 60.3%). Data was collected using a pre-tested and pre-validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was applied and the chi-squared test (for qualitative data) and independent samples t-test(for quantitative data) was applied to find out statistical differences (Using SPSS 21.0), if any.RESULTS: It was reported that 201 (21.29%) of the study population suffered from oral malignant lesions, and the most prevalent lesion was OSMF [115, 12.18%] followed by leukoplakia [49, 5.19%]. The prevalence of oral malignant lesions among males was found to be higher(18.97%) as compared to females. A significant difference was found between the oral lesions and tobacco ever and never chewers (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The results indicate a need to focus tobacco cessation programmes in the population of Delhi-NCR and reinforce it from time to time to reduce the burden of such Oral Malignant Disorders

Oral Hygiene (OHI-S) and DMFT Status among Type 1 Diabetic Adolescents Aged 12-19 Years: A Case-Control Study

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes in any form (type 1 or type 2) has the potential to affect the oral health of an individual. AIM: To assess the oral hygiene status (simplified) and DMFT among adolescents aged 12-19 years with type 1 diabetes (cases) in Jammu District, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), India MATERIALS AND METHOD: A total of 50 patients aged 12-19 years with type 1 diabetes mellitus, screened via medical history from  August 2017 to August 2018 were enrolled in the study. The control group consisted of 51 healthy adolescents matched for age and gender selected randomly. The DMFT index was used to record the Decayed, Missing, Filled teeth, while the OHI-S Index was used to assess the Oral Hygiene Status. The examinations were done under artificial light and  data was analyzed using SPSS version  19.0. The t-test, Odd’s Ratio (OR) and multiple regression were used to analyze the data.  RESULTS: Of a total of 101 participants(50 cases and 51 controls) enrolled in the study, cases reported higher values of OHI-S and DMFT  as compared to controls. The cases had an OHI-S score of 3.12±3.2 indicating poor oral hygiene, the controls’ score of 2.54±1.1 revealed fair oral hygiene and no significant statistical differences were found (OR=2.1). A significant difference (p=0.03) was seen upon comparison of DMFT among cases (4.67±6.6) and controls (3.82±2.9). The cases were 1.7 (OR) times more likely to have higher DMF values as compared to controls CONCLUSION: Efforts must be reinforced among adolescents emphasizing the importance of oral health, through more frequent dental education camps in Jammu district, J&K, Indi

Lychee Associated Encephalopathy: Myth or Reality?

Once again, lychee fruit is flashing in the Indian news headlines after being criticized for association with fatal encephalopathy in Muzaffarpur region of Bihar. More than a 100 children in the district have lost their lives to this mysterious deadly outbreak. The research work behind the etiopathology of this lethal disease is minimal. There is a constant need of reporting these kind of unusual breakouts and analysing the data on basis of clinical and laboratory records. The health professionals will have to focus the target population, using preventive and curative measures, but this could be done only if substantial research is available for meta-analysis to reach a decision that could effectively and satisfactorily control this fatal and life-threatening public health issue