Alkhubaizi Qoot, Khalaf Mai E, Dashti Hussain, Sharma Prem N
Department of General Dentistry, University of Maryland, School of Dentistry, USA.
Department of General Dental Practice, Faculty of Dentistry, Kuwait University, Kuwait.
J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2018 Nov-Dec;8(6):553-559. doi: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_197_18. Epub 2018 Nov 29.
The aim of visual systematic screening is early identification of oral cancer (OC) precursor lesion. OC mortality improves when cancer is identified at early stages. This is important in patients whose lifestyle choices render them at higher risk of developing OC. This study described the prevalence of OC screening among smokers and nonsmokers in Kuwait and ascertained demographic predictors.
This cross-sectional study utilized a self-administered online survey in English and Arabic through Survey Monkey and disseminated using the social networking app "WhatsApp." The survey included 21 questions on demographics, smoking status, and knowledge of OC. Screening questions were adopted from the Maryland Cancer Screening and Risk Behavior Survey. Data were analyzed using the computer software "Statistical Package for Social Sciences, SPSS version 24.0" (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA).
The study included 404 Kuwaiti respondents, 311 (77%) nonsmokers and 93 (23%) smokers. Prevalence of OC screening was 7.2, 7.7% among nonsmokers and 5.4% in smokers. Only 36.6% were aware of OC, with more nonsmokers (38.9%) than smokers (29%). Logistic regression revealed twice more males likely to go for screening than females and with the likelihood of those being in the age group of 25-44 years four times more ( < 0.012) than other age groups.
There was low prevalence of screening and poor awareness of OC among sampled. Increased efforts are needed by health professionals to spread awareness and improve knowledge on OC and demand the inclusion of screening during their routine and opportunistic oral examinations.
视觉系统筛查的目的是早期识别口腔癌（OC）前体病变。在癌症早期被识别时，口腔癌死亡率会降低。这对于那些生活方式选择使其患口腔癌风险更高的患者来说很重要。本研究描述了科威特吸烟者和非吸烟者中口腔癌筛查的患病率，并确定了人口统计学预测因素。
这项横断面研究通过Survey Monkey以英语和阿拉伯语进行了一项自我管理的在线调查，并通过社交网络应用程序“WhatsApp”进行传播。该调查包括21个关于人口统计学、吸烟状况和口腔癌知识的问题。筛查问题取自马里兰州癌症筛查和风险行为调查。使用计算机软件“社会科学统计软件包，SPSS版本24.0”（美国纽约州阿蒙克市IBM公司）对数据进行分析。
该研究纳入了404名科威特受访者，其中311名（77%）为非吸烟者，93名（23%）为吸烟者。非吸烟者的口腔癌筛查患病率为7.2%，吸烟者为7.7%，吸烟者为5.4%。只有36.6%的人知晓口腔癌，知晓的非吸烟者（38.9%）比吸烟者（29%）更多。逻辑回归显示，男性进行筛查的可能性是女性的两倍，年龄在25 - 44岁的人群进行筛查的可能性比其他年龄组高四倍（<0.012）。
抽样人群中筛查患病率较低，对口腔癌的知晓度较差。卫生专业人员需要加大努力，传播口腔癌相关知识，提高对口腔癌的认识，并在常规和机会性口腔检查中要求纳入筛查。
