Prevalence of oral lesions among a sample of Bangladeshi medical users aged 40 years and over living in Tower Hamlets, UK

Aim To collect data on the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions among Bangladeshi medical care users aged 40 years and over and to explore the relationship of oral disease status and tobacco smoking and paan (betel quid) chewing. Design Multi-centre cross-sectional study. Setting General medical practitioners' waiting areas in Tower Hamlets, UK. Subjects 185 Bangladeshi adults aged 40 years old and over. Method An oral mucosal examination, based on WHO criteria and an interview. Information on tobacco smoking and paan chewing behaviour was collected during the interview. Results Out of 185 adults there was a response rate of 74%. Oral mucosal lesions were observed in 40% of participants. The most common lesion was found to be leukoplakia with a prevalence…