Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais (PUC Minas), Av. Dom José Gaspar, 500 - Coração Eucarístico,, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 30535-901, Brazil.
J Cancer Educ. 2021 Oct;36(5):965-970. doi: 10.1007/s13187-020-01722-4.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the knowledge about oral cancer in a Brazilian population, including initial clinical signs, causal factors, and the health professional of first choice when suspected of the disease. A total of 2261 participants were interviewed in a cross-sectional study, to investigate associations between sociodemographic descriptive variables and knowledge of oral cancer, risk factors, disease precursor lesions, and health professional of choice for diagnosis. The variables were descriptively analyzed and possible associations investigated considering p values < 0.05. A total of 83.4% of participants reported knowing about oral cancer, and 59.5% reported knowing about potentially malignant lesions; both variables were associated (p < 0.0001). Tobacco was identified as the main risk factor (83.6%), followed by family history (66.2%), and poor oral hygiene (54.5%). Interviewees with higher education level had greater knowledge about cancer (p < 0.0001), and the dentist was the health professional of choice for 43.1% of those who knew about the disease (p = 0.007), with the generalist being the most sought specialist. The population evaluated had a low knowledge of oral cancer given the lack of specific clarifications on etiological factors and risk situations. Health education initiatives are necessary to increase population awareness of potentially malignant oral lesions and improve early diagnosis and recognition of the dentist as a qualified professional for diagnosis of the disease.
本研究旨在调查巴西人群对口腔癌的认知，包括口腔癌的初始临床症状、病因因素以及怀疑患有该病时首选的医疗保健专业人员。在一项横断面研究中，共对 2261 名参与者进行了访谈，以调查社会人口统计学描述变量与口腔癌知识、危险因素、疾病前病变以及诊断首选医疗保健专业人员之间的关联。对变量进行了描述性分析，并考虑了 p 值 < 0.05 来研究可能的关联。共有 83.4%的参与者报告了解口腔癌，59.5%的参与者报告了解可能的恶性病变；这两个变量均呈相关关系（p < 0.0001）。烟草被确定为主要危险因素（83.6%），其次是家族史（66.2%）和口腔卫生不良（54.5%）。受教育程度较高的受访者对癌症的了解更多（p < 0.0001），而在了解该疾病的受访者中，有 43.1%选择牙医作为首选医疗保健专业人员（p = 0.007），全科医生是最常寻求的专科医生。鉴于对病因因素和风险情况缺乏具体说明，评估人群对口腔癌的认知水平较低。需要开展健康教育活动，以提高人群对潜在恶性口腔病变的认识，并改善早期诊断和认识牙医作为诊断该疾病的合格专业人员的能力。
