Prevalence and Type of Tobacco Habits and Tobacco Related Oral Lesions among Wayanad Tribes, Kerala, India

Background: A positive correlation exists between tobacco habit and education&socio-economic status of individuals. The baseline study revealed that, Wayanad tribal population being a community which is falling behind the rest of population of Kerala in terms of literacy, income and health, spend a significant portion of their income on tobacco. As there is no information about actual prevalence of tobacco habits and related oral mucosal lesions, the present study was designed to record the related details.

Methodology: Total of 523 individuals belonging to the age group 10-80 years were selected randomly from different tribal groups of Wayanad district of Kerala. Selected individuals were personally interviewed in local language and subsequently oral examination was carried out to note the details. Results obtained were analysed statistically.

Results: Out of 523 participants, 445 (85.1%) were consuming tobacco in one form or other. 91.3% of tobacco users were males and 79.3% females with relatively equal distribution among different communities. Different types of habits observed were chewing, smoking and Snuff of which chewing was found to be more prevalent (60.1%). Various tobacco related oral mucosal lesions observed among the study populations were Leukoplakia 93 (17.8%), Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) 38 (7.2%), Oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC) 2(0.4%), and Chewers mucosa 61 (11.7%).

Conclusion: Prevalence of tobacco habits and related oral mucosal lesions are high among the tribes of Wayanad. Their ignorance about the adverse effect of tobacco is highly alarming and special attention from government and health professionals is required for improving the health awareness and welfare of this tribal community.