Oral Lesions in Elderly Patients in Referral Centers for Oral Lesions of Bahia

Abstract

Introduction The aging population phenomenon is occurring on a global scale; aging affects all of the structures of organisms, including the oral cavity. Objective To estimate the frequency of oral lesions, according to the clinical and histopathologic diagnoses, and to describe the sociodemographic profile of the elderly treated at the referral centers of oral lesions of public universities in Bahia, Brazil. Methods A descriptive epidemiologic study with transverse characteristics was conducted with elderly patients between August 2010 and January 2012. A form was used to collect data. The descriptive analysis consisted of calculating the simple and relative frequencies of sociodemographic variables and oral lesions. Results The population was predominantly black women, and the minority of elderly people were retired. Fibroid (13%) and squamous cell carcinoma (145%) were more prevalent clinical diagnoses, with squamous cell carcinoma (30.7%) and fibrous hyperplasia more prevalent histopathologic diagnoses. Conclusion A prevention policy needs to be implemented to reduce new cases of oral lesions in Bahia, Brazil and to aid in early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of oral lesions.

Oral and Maxillofacial Lesions Diagnosed in Older People of a Brazilian Population: A Multicentric Study

“…In developing countries such as Brazil, an age of 60 years or over defines the geriatric population, while this age is ≥65 years in developed countries. The mean age of the patients of this study was 69.0 years, similar to the mean age of 67.0 to 70.2 years reported by other authors . As can be seen in Table of our study, 61% (n = 4,428) of the analyzed patients fall in the age range of 60–69 years, showing that developing countries have the highest number of old people in the first decade of old age.…”

“…However, studies that exclusively evaluate the clinical diagnosis, although important, have the disadvantage of not reporting the accurate final diagnosis; for example, a clinical diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma or of any other benign or malignant neoplasm can only be confirmed by biopsy and histopathology. Thus, histopathological studies have the advantage of being more accurate since this type of analysis is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of many diseases …”

“…The variation in the prevalence of geriatric oral lesions reflects differences in cultural and socioeconomic patterns between different countries that can influence the habits and diseases of a population. However, another factor that could explain the different prevalence of oral lesions in this population is the fact that few studies describe the national profile or the profile of representative regions of a country and others report prevalences limited to a single dentistry or medical school, to nursing homes or to institutionalized patients …”

“…The aging of the population and the increased interest in the oral health of older adults have given rise to numerous scientific studies, most of them investigating clinical data . However, global epidemiological studies based on biopsy data and histopathological records may provide more accurate and conclusive data …”

Long term cognitive outcome in herpes simplex encephalitis

“…However above 70 years age group (52%) showed the highest incidence in Bahia study. 8 In concordance with various other studies, a male preponderance of 56.2% was seen in the present study whereas similar study in elderly Venezuelan population, females were commonly affected than males.…”