International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Community Oral Health Department, Dental School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
East Mediterr Health J. 2020 Dec 9;26(12):1510-1517. doi: 10.26719/emhj.20.060.
Public awareness on oral cancer is thought to improve prevention and early diagnosis; however, the role of socioeconomic status in this awareness is not clear.
The aim was to investigate whether an association exists between socioeconomic status and oral cancer awareness in adults.
A multi-stage random sample of adults was investigated in Tehran in 2016-2017. The outcome was awareness of oral cancer and knowledge of risk factors and signs and symptoms using a self-administered questionnaire. The main exposures were self-reported socioeconomic status of 8 indicators of family assets and economic situation. Wealth index was created using principal component analysis, and participants were classified into 5 quintiles. Regression analysis was applied to test associations.
Out of 1800 adults, 1312 completed questionnaires were returned (72.8% response rate). The mean age was 37.8 (standard deviation 9.0) years; about 60% were female. Statistical analysis revealed the higher the wealth index, the higher the score for oral cancer knowledge and awareness. Awareness and knowledge were significantly lower among participants in the poorest quintile: they had a knowledge score on oral cancer risk factors 1.58 points [95% confidence interval (CI): -2.19;-0.96] lower, and a knowledge score on oral cancer signs 1.34 points (95 CI: -1.98;-0.72) lower compared with the richest quintile.
Socioeconomic inequalities were observed in oral cancer awareness in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
公众对口腔癌的认识被认为可以提高预防和早期诊断的效果；然而，社会经济地位在这种认识中的作用尚不清楚。
本研究旨在调查社会经济地位与成年人对口腔癌的认识之间是否存在关联。
2016-2017 年，对德黑兰的一个多阶段随机成年人样本进行了调查。使用自我管理问卷评估了对口腔癌的认识以及对危险因素、症状和体征的了解程度。主要暴露因素是 8 项家庭资产和经济状况指标的自我报告社会经济地位。使用主成分分析法创建财富指数，并将参与者分为 5 个五分位数。回归分析用于检验关联。
在 1800 名成年人中，有 1312 人完成了问卷（72.8%的应答率）。平均年龄为 37.8 岁（标准差为 9.0）；约 60%为女性。统计分析显示，财富指数越高，口腔癌知识和认识得分越高。在最贫穷的五分位数中，意识和知识明显较低：他们的口腔癌危险因素知识得分低 1.58 分（95%置信区间：-2.19；-0.96），口腔癌体征知识得分低 1.34 分（95%置信区间：-1.98；-0.72）与最富有五分位数相比。
在伊朗伊斯兰共和国，口腔癌意识存在社会经济不平等现象。
