Khawaja Muhammad RizwanulHaq, Mazahir Samia, Majeed Atif, Malik Farida, Merchant Kanwal AliRaza, Maqsood Maria, Malik Rabia, Ghaffar Shehzad, Fatmi Zafar
Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2006 Jan-Mar;7(1):95-100.
The link of betel, areca and chewable tobacco with head and neck cancers is clearly established. Fifty eight percent of the global head and neck cancers occur in South and Southeast Asia, where chewing of betel, areca and tobacco are common. This study was carried out to establish the pattern of use of Paan, Chaalia, Gutka, Niswar, Tumbaku and Naas among population of squatter settlement of Karachi and to determine the perceptions and knowledge regarding their role in the etiology of head and neck cancers. It was a cross-sectional study, performed at Bilal colony in Karachi. Through systematic sampling, 425 subjects [a male and female from a household] were interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Knowledge regarding etiology of head and neck cancers was classified in ordinals of "good", "some" and "poor", for each substance separately, while practices were classified into "daily user", "occasional user" and "never user". About 40% of the participants were chewing at least one item [betel, areca or tobacco products] on daily basis. This prevalence was 2.46 times higher among males than females and 1.39 times higher among adolescents than adults. At least 79% of the participants were classified as having poor knowledge about the carcinogenicity of each of these items. Knowledge increased with age and level of education. Health hazards of these items were poorly recognized and about 20% perceived at least one of these items to be beneficial. Positive attitudes were seen regarding the steps to curb the production, business and consumption of these substances. In conclusion, prevalence of chewing of betel, areca and tobacco among adults and adolescents is high. Deficiency in knowledge and wrong perception of favorable effect of chewing products is common. Besides curtailing the availability of chewing products, correct knowledge regarding its ill-effects should be inculcated among population to decrease the burden of head and neck cancers.
槟榔、槟榔果和咀嚼烟草与头颈癌之间的联系已明确确立。全球58%的头颈癌发生在南亚和东南亚，在这些地区，咀嚼槟榔、槟榔果和烟草很常见。本研究旨在确定卡拉奇棚户区居民中帕安、查利亚、古特卡、尼斯瓦尔、吞巴库和纳斯的使用模式，并确定他们对这些物品在头颈癌病因中作用的认知和了解。这是一项在卡拉奇的比拉尔殖民地进行的横断面研究。通过系统抽样，对425名受试者（每户一名男性和一名女性）进行了结构化问卷调查。关于头颈癌病因的知识分别针对每种物质按“良好”“一般”和“较差”进行分类，而使用习惯则分为“每日使用者”“偶尔使用者”和“从不使用者”。约40%的参与者每天至少咀嚼一种物品（槟榔、槟榔果或烟草制品）。这种患病率在男性中比女性高2.46倍，在青少年中比成年人高1.39倍。至少79%的参与者被归类为对这些物品中每种的致癌性了解较差。知识随着年龄和教育水平的提高而增加。这些物品对健康的危害鲜为人知，约20%的人认为这些物品中至少有一种是有益的。对于遏制这些物质的生产、商业和消费的措施，人们持积极态度。总之，成年人和青少年中咀嚼槟榔、槟榔果和烟草的患病率很高。知识缺乏和对咀嚼制品有利影响的错误认知很常见。除了减少咀嚼制品的供应外，还应向人们灌输关于其不良影响的正确知识，以减轻头颈癌的负担。
