Oral cancer awareness and Prevalence of Betel nuts, pan and ghutka in school children of rural areas of Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of betel nuts, pan and ghutka in the school children of rural 
areas and suburbs of Sindh, Pakistan and whether they have awareness for oral cancer and its risk factors. 
Spreading awareness in school going children can potentially reduce the incidence of oral cancer in our 
society.Through the use of a questionnaire we assessed 462 school children in three districts of Sindh: 
Thatta, Jamshoro and Hyderabad, on their consumption of betel nuts, pan and ghutka; oral behaviors; their 
knowledge of oral cancer and their understanding of common risk factors for oral cancer. Out of 462 
students questioned, 66% of them answered positive for eating at least one of the risk factors studied in 
this study. However knowledge of the side effects of these substances was poor and even erroneous and 
only 44% had awareness in general. Regarding brushing teeth daily, 92% of students brushed at least once 
daily. In response to being aware of the word Oral cancer, only 34% answered that they have heard about 
Oral cancer. 29% of all the students could mention betel nuts, pan or ghutka as the risk factor for oral 
cancer. Awareness of the risk factors and clinical features of oral cancer provides an opportunity to reduce 
the incidence of new addicts among the young population, application of that knowledge seems, however, 
to be poor. This highlights a need for improved education of school going children and introduction of 
special teaching and interactive programs to communicate the message in a more persuasive manner.