Smokeless tobacco - a substantial risk for oral potentially malignant disorders in South Asia

Data sources: Medline, the Science Citation Index (SCI) via Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, Global Index Medicus, Google Scholar and SLT-related reports of the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the National Cancer Institute of the United States. Study selection: Observational studies on the use of SLT and the risk of developing OPMDs in South Asian Populations. Data extraction and synthesis: Duplicate selection of studies was undertaken with two reviewers undertaking data abstraction and quality assessment independently. Risk and odds ratios were extracted or calculated for studies where possible. Meta odds ratios (mOR) were calculated using a random effects analysis. Results: Fifteen papers reporting 18 studies were included. The majority (12) were from India. All the studies were case-control designs. MOR for any OPMD with the use of any SLT product was 15.5 (95% CI; 9.9–24.2). Risk was higher in women; mOR = 22.2 (95% CI, 9.1–54.1) than men; mOR = 8.7 (95% CI, 2.1–34.8). Betel quid with tobacco carried the highest risk for OPMD, mOR = 16.1 (95% CI, 7.8–33.5). Conclusions: The findings of our study point towards a strong association between some forms of OPMDs and SLT use in South Asia. The risk estimates are high, irrespective of controlling for confounders such as smoking and alcohol or stratification by sex, country or source of controls. There is also an exposure-response relationship between OPMDs and SLT use

Orofacial manifestations in outpatients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa focusing on the vomiting behavior

Objective: This case-control study aims to evaluate the oral health status and orofacial problems in a group of outpatients with eating disorders (ED)—either anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN)—further focusing on the influence of vomit. Materials and methods: Fifty-five women outpatients with AN or BN diagnosis were invited to participate, of which 33 agreed. ED outpatients and matched controls were submitted to a questionnaire and clinical oral examination. Results: Multivariate analysis identified a significantly higher incidence of teeth-related complications (i.e., tooth decay, dental erosion, and self-reported dentin hypersensitivity), periodontal disease, salivary alterations (i.e., hyposalivation and xerostomia), and oral mucosa-related complications in ED outpatients. Dental erosion, self-reported dentin hypersensitivity, hyposalivation, xerostomia, and angular cheilitis were found to be highly correlated with the vomiting behavior. Conclusions: ED outpatients were found to present a higher incidence of oral-related complications and an inferior oral health status, compared to gender- and age-matched controls. Alterations verified within outpatients were acknowledged to be quite similar to those previously reported within inpatients, in both of nature and severity, thus sustaining that the cranio-maxillofacial region is significantly affected by ED, even in the early/milder forms of the condition, as expectedly verified within outpatients.The work was supported by the Faculty of Dental Medicine, U. Porto

IMPACT OF PRE-MARITAL SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS ON THE LIFE ASPECTS OF YOUNG INDIVIDUALS

Pre-marital sex is the engagement of sexual intercourse before the marital vows which is accepted by a particular society. This research focused on the impacts of pre-marital sexual relationships on the lives of young individuals in Sri Lanka. Which investigated causes, consequences, and gender specific impacts of pre-marital sexual relationships and the prevalence of these issues in contemporary Sri Lankan society. Purposive sampling method was instrumented to determine the sample size which was 20.  A mixed method which included data collecting methods such as, observations, participant observations, interviews, case studies and questionnaires were used to gather data. All 20 respondents were considered as 20 different case studies to gather in-depth data. The study revealed various mental, behavioral, educational, professional, and post-marital impacts. In conclusion female individuals experienced more pronounced negative impacts due to the socio-cultural context in Sri Lanka. The findings highlighted the importance of addressing and understanding the complexities related to pre-marital sex for the holistic well-being of young individuals in Sri Lanka

Oral Cancer Development in Patients with Leukoplakia – Clinicopathological Factors Affecting Outcome

Oral leukoplakia (OL) is the best-known potentially malignant disorder. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the clinicopathological factors predictive of outcome in a large cohort of patients with OL, and report our experience in the early detection of malignant events.A total of 320 patients with biopsy-proven OL were retrospectively reviewed from the study institution who had a mean follow-up of 5.1 years. Data on patient and lesion at initial diagnosis and patient underwent sequential biopsies were reviewed. Multiple biopsies indicates > = 3 times sequential biopsies. Oral cancer-free survival rate (OCFS) was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method and significant factors were identified by Cox regression analysis.<0.001), especially during the first 2–3 years of follow-up. Multivariate analysis revealed that the 4 factors including patient aged >60 years, lesion located at lateral/ventral tongue, non-homogenous lesion, high-grade dysplasia were independent significant indicators for OL malignant transformation. In addition, significant positive correlation between the multiple biopsies and these 4 factors and malignant outcome was established.Elderly patients with OL located at lateral/ventral tongue and who had non-homogenous lesion with high-grade dysplasia correlated much higher risk of transformation. This high-risk subpopulation was suggested to undergo sequential biopsies and histologic examination contributing to early detection of malignant event

The future of medical diagnostics: Review paper

While histopathology of excised tissue remains the gold standard for diagnosis, several new, non-invasive diagnostic techniques are being developed. They rely on physical and biochemical changes that precede and mirror malignant change within tissue. The basic principle involves simple optical techniques of tissue interrogation. Their accuracy, expressed as sensitivity and specificity, are reported in a number of studies suggests that they have a potential for cost effective, real-time, in situ diagnosis. We review the Third Scientific Meeting of the Head and Neck Optical Diagnostics Society held in Congress Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria on the 11th May 2011. For the first time the HNODS Annual Scientific Meeting was held in association with the International Photodynamic Association (IPA) and the European Platform for Photodynamic Medicine (EPPM). The aim was to enhance the interdisciplinary aspects of optical diagnostics and other photodynamic applications. The meeting included 2 sections: oral communication sessions running in parallel to the IPA programme and poster presentation sessions combined with the IPA and EPPM posters sessions. © 2011 Jerjes et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Incidence rates and trends of lip, oral and oro-pharyngeal cancers in Portugal

Objectives: To analyse the trends and patterns of lip, oral and oro‐pharyngeal cancer incidence in Portugal between 1998 and 2007. Patients and Methods: Data on lip, oral and oro‐pharyngeal cancers was collected from the databases maintained at the three main Regional Cancer Registries of Portugal (1998–2007). The data were analysed by gender, age and by site. Incidence rates were age standardized by the direct method, and joinpoint regression was used to estimate trends in incidence. Results: During this 10‐year period, a total of 9623 cases of lip, oral and oropharynx cancers were reported, 7565 (78.6%) in males and 2058 (21.4%) in females. There was an increase in the age‐standardized incidence of oral cancers by 1.96% per year for both sexes grouped together and an increase of 4.34% per year for the female group. Oro‐pharyngeal cancer showed an increase incidence trend of 3.49% per year for both sexes grouped together and an increase of 3.49% per year for male group among the sites analysed. Lip cancer showed a decrease in its incidence rate. Conclusion: In view of rising trends, it is necessary to implement policies on oral cancer control by initiating campaigns on oral cancer awareness and screening and to harness political measures on tobacco and alcohol control for the Portuguese population

The potential synergistic behaviour of inter- and intra-genus probiotic combinations in the pattern and rate of short chain fatty acids formation during fibre fermentation

This study compared the rate of short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production by different probiotic combinations of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium to determine any synergistic effects. Six different fibre fractions were fermented with nine combinations of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LR), Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA), Bifidobacterium longum (BL) and Bifidobacterium breve (BB) for 0, 6, 24 and 48 h. SCFAs were quantified by gas chromatography. Inter-genus combinations of bacteria produced more SCFA, especially BB + BL + LR, compared to intra-genus that yielded the lowest SCFA production. Acetate was the most abundant, while propionate and butyrate were the most utilised. The SCFA formation was as acetate \u3e propionate \u3e butyrate and the total dietary fibre produced most of the SCFA. Most combinations utilised 60–80% of the fibre; BB + BL + LR digested the fibre completely. The quantity, pattern and the time of release of SCFA depends on the genus, but the combination of pre and probiotics is of great importance for the outcome