Coital Experience Among Adolescents in Three Social-Educational Groups in Urban Chiang Mai, Thailand

This article compares coital experience of Chiang Mai 17–20-year-olds who were: (1) out-of-school; (2) studying at vocational schools; and (3) studying at general schools or university. Four-fifths, two-thirds and one-third, respectively, of males in these groups had had intercourse, compared to 53, 62 and 15 per cent of females. The gender difference for general school/university students, but not vocational school students, probably reflects HIV/AIDS refocusing male sexual initiation away from commercial sex workers. Vocational school females may have been disproportionately affected. Loss of virginity was associated, for both sexes, with social-educational background and lifestyle, and was less likely in certain minority ethnic groups. Among males, it was also associated with age and parental marital dissolution, and among females, with independent living and parental disharmony. Within social-educational groups, lifestyle variables dominated, but among general school/university students, parental marital dissolution (for males) and disharmony (for females) were also important, and Chinese ethnicity deterred male sexual experimentation

Submental island flap versus radial forearm free flap for oral tongue reconstruction: a comparison of complications and functional outcomes

AbstractObjectiveThis study compared the complications and functional outcomes of patients with oral tongue cancer who had undergone reconstruction using a submental island flap or a radial forearm free flap.MethodOf the 54 patients, 29 underwent reconstruction with a submental island flap and 25 patients with a radial forearm free flap. The complications and outcomes of speech and swallowing were evaluated.ResultsIn the submental island flap group, all the flaps were successfully transferred with no donor site complications. In the radial forearm free flap group, partial skin graft loss and arm function restriction were recorded. Mean operative time and duration of hospital stay were significantly shorter in the submental island flap group. Speech and swallowing function were comparable between the two groups. There was no significant difference in locoregional recurrence between the groups.ConclusionThe submental island flap is reliable and is suitable for oral tongue reconstruction. It has a lower complication incidence when compared to the radial forearm free flap, while maintaining speech and swallowing function.</jats:sec