The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA.
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2022 May 7;22(1):912. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13262-1.
Areca nut (AN) is an addictive substance consumed in the Southeast region and is highly associated with oral premalignant lesions and oral cancer. The impact of AN use in the United States (US) is largely unknown, but the products are readily available and probably used by a significant fraction of Asian immigrants or descendants living in the US. We aimed at assessing AN use prevalence among the Asian community in Houston, Texas.
A cross-sectional questionnaire was used to interview adult individuals (≥ 18 years of age) who self-identified as Asian immigrants or descendants residing in Houston. Means, frequencies, and proportions were reported. Factors associated with AN use were evaluated using logistic regression.
We surveyed 275 individuals (58% women, 43% between 35-54 years old, 67% born outside of the US, and 6% concurrent smokers). Among respondents, 91% were familiar with AN products, 17% self-reported ever use of AN products in the US, and 31% had friends/family members who were AN ever users. AN use was significantly associated with being Indian Subcontinent immigrants or descendants (ISID) (OR = 3·9; CI: 1·10,13·81; p = 0·035) and having friends/family members using AN products (OR = 6·2; CI: 1·69, 22·69; p = 0·006).
Our findings provide quantitative data on the prevalence of AN ever use and context for future AN prevention and cessation interventions specific to the Southeast Asian groups living in the US mainland. This is crucial for the prevention and control of oral cancer and other detrimental conditions related to AN consumption.
槟榔（AN）是一种在东南亚地区被滥用的物质，与口腔癌前病变和口腔癌高度相关。在美国（US），AN 的使用影响很大程度上是未知的，但这些产品很容易获得，可能被居住在美国的大量亚洲移民或其后代使用。我们旨在评估德克萨斯州休斯顿的亚洲社区中 AN 的使用情况。
我们使用横断面问卷对自认为是居住在休斯顿的亚洲移民或其后代的成年个体（≥ 18 岁）进行了访谈。报告了均值、频率和比例。使用逻辑回归评估与 AN 使用相关的因素。
我们调查了 275 名个体（58%为女性，43%年龄在 35-54 岁之间，67%出生在美国境外，6%为同时吸烟者）。在受访者中，91%熟悉 AN 产品，17%自我报告在美国曾使用过 AN 产品，31%有朋友/家人曾使用过 AN。AN 使用与印度次大陆移民或后代（ISID）显著相关（OR = 3.9；CI：1.10，13.81；p = 0.035），并且与有朋友/家人使用 AN 产品显著相关（OR = 6.2；CI：1.69，22.69；p = 0.006）。
我们的研究结果提供了有关美国大陆的东南亚裔群体中 AN 既往使用的流行率和背景的定量数据，这对预防和控制与 AN 消费相关的口腔癌和其他有害情况至关重要。
