Prevalence of Areca Nut Eating Habits and its Association with Oral Submucous Fibrosis in Preuniversity Collegegoing Adolescents of Raichur in Karnataka, India: A Prospective Cross-sectional Survey

ABSTRACT Introduction Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a well-known premalignant condition. Use of areca nut is a known cause of OSMF. More and more adolescents are becoming habitual to the use of areca nut and thus become prone for oral cancer. Objective To assess the prevalence of areca nut eating habits and its association with OSMF in the preuniversity college-going adolescents of Raichur in Karnataka, India. Materials and methods A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among the preuniversity college-going adolescents. A questionnaire was asked to be filled by them with regard to areca nut eating habits. All of them were examined by a single examiner for the detection of OSMF. Results Among the total of 1,208 adolescents included in the study, 527 were males and 681 were females. A total of 358 (29.64%) people accepted that they have the habit of eating areca nut. There was a significant association between areca nut eating habit and OSMF. There exists a significant relationship between the frequency and duration of areca nut eating habit with the presence of OSMF (p < 0.0001). Conclusion Areca nut eating habit is increasingly becoming prevalent among college-going adolescents. This needs to be addressed promptly by all concerned to prevent the occurrence of oral cancer. How to cite this article Shrikrishna BH, Jyothi AC. Prevalence of Areca Nut Eating Habits and its Association with Oral Submucous Fibrosis in Preuniversity College-going Adolescents of Raichur in Karnataka, India: A Prospective Cross-sectional Survey. Int J Head Neck Surg 2016;7(4):197-203.