A national epidemiological survey of oral mucosal lesions in Malaysia

Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1997 Oct;25(5):377-83. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1997.tb00959.x.

Abstract

The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in Malaysia was determined by examining a representative sample of 11,707 subjects aged 25 years and above throughout the 14 states over a period of 5 months during 1993/1994. A two-stage stratified random sampling was undertaken. A predetermined number of enumeration blocks, the smallest population unit in the census publication, was selected from each state. With the selected enumeration block, a systematic sample of living quarters was chosen with a random start. The survey instrument included a questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics and a clinical examination. The clinical examination was carried out by 16 specially trained dental public health officers and the diagnosis calibrated with a final concordance rate of 92%. The age in the sample ranged from 25 to 115 years with a mean of 44.5+/-14.0. The sample comprised 40.2% males and 59.8% females; 55.8% were Malays, 29.4% Chinese, 10.0% Indians and 1.2% other ethnic groups. Oral mucosal lesions were detected in 1131 (9.7%) subjects, 5 (0.04%) had oral cancer, 165 (1.4%) had lesions or conditions that may be precancerous (leukoplakia, erythroplakia, submucous fibrosis and lichen planus) and 187 (1.6%) had betel chewer's mucosa. The prevalence of oral precancer was highest amongst Indians (4.0%) and other Bumiputras (the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak) (2.5%) while the lowest prevalence was amongst the Chinese (0.5%).

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Areca
  • China / epidemiology
  • China / ethnology
  • Demography
  • Erythroplasia / epidemiology
  • Ethnicity
  • Female
  • Humans
  • India / epidemiology
  • India / ethnology
  • Lichen Planus, Oral / epidemiology
  • Malaysia / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mouth Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Mouth Mucosa / pathology
  • Mouth Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Oral Submucous Fibrosis / epidemiology
  • Plants, Medicinal
  • Precancerous Conditions / epidemiology
  • Prevalence
  • Sex Factors
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Surveys and Questionnaires