Influence of socioeconomic status on oral mucosa lesion prevalence in schoolchildren

Abstract

The aim of this survey was to determine the prevalence of oral mucosa lesions in children aged 4-13 yr from two schools, one (S1) having a higher socioeconomic status than the other (S2). In all, 846 children were examined, 463 from S1 and 383 from S2, of whom 555 were boys and 291 were girls. There were 359 boys and 104 girls in S1; 196 boys and 187 girls in S2. Fifteen different lesion types were discerned. The most frequent ones were recurrent aphthous ulceration (RAU) (92 cases); fissured cheilitis (54); herpes labialis (44); angular cheilitis (30); geographic tongue (25); smooth tongue (22); and plicated tongue (17). An outstanding finding was the contrasting distribution of certain lesion types in the two schools. RAU was observed in 19% of the children from S1, making up 50% of all lesions detected. However, in S2 only 2% exhibited RAU, making up less than 4% of observed lesions. On the other hand, herpes labialis was seen in 1% of S1 and 10% of S2 children, regardless of age or sex. Plicated tongue was found in 3.2% in S1 and 0.5% in S2; fissured cheilitis in 2.9% in S1 and 12.8% in S2; and angular cheilitis in 1.1% in S1 and 6.5% in S2. Therefore, there were no statistical differences between the schools in the ratio of total lesions observed to children examined, but a significant difference was apparent when individual lesions were taken into account.

Oral mucosa alterations in a socioeconomically deprived region: prevalence and associated factors

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The Vale do Jequitinhonha is a region largely known for its low social indicators and is currently one of the areas of greatest inequality and social exclusion in Brazil. 15 The microregion of Diamantina is located in this region and is known as the gateway to the Vale do Jequitinhonha.…”

A scientific survey on 1550 cases of oral lesions diagnosed in a Brazilian referral center

“…Several studies (Lima et al 2008, Mathew et al 2008, Kniest et al 2011, Ghanaei et al 2013) have been developed in order to define the most frequent oral lesions, but it is known that culture, gender, age, ethnicity, and habit factors may have a significant influence on the prevalence of lesions (Cebeci et al 2009, Henrique et al 2009). Moreover, the socioeconomic differences of population groups may also have such influence, considering it is mostly associated with malnutrition, poor oral hygiene, and difficult access to healthcare (Crivelli et al 1988). Thus, it is up to dentists to learn, through epidemiological studies, about the most frequent oral lesions and diseases among their own population, in order to interpret correctly the changes of tissues and oral structures and perform an accurate diagnosis (Gemaque et al 2014).…”

Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis

“…Ayrıca orta gelirli ve düşük eğitim düzeyi olanlarda lezyon sayısının daha fazla; yüksek eğitim ve yüksek gelir düzeyi olanlarda daha az olduğu gözlendi. Literatürde RAS'ın yüksek sosyoekonomik düzeydeki bireylerde daha sık görüldüğü bildirilmiş, bu durum bu popülasyonda karşılaşılan stres faktörleri ile ilişkilendirilmiştir [15][16][17] . Bölgemizin sosyoekonomik özellikleri göz önünde bulundurulduğunda bulgularımızdaki bu farklılık şaşırtıcı değildir.…”