Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Sep 9;11(9):e0162081.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162081. eCollection 2016.

Betel Quid and Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders in a Periurban Township in Myanmar

Ko-Ko Zaw  1 , Mya Ohnmar  1 , Moh-Moh Hlaing  1 , Yin-Thet-Nu Oo  1 , Swe-Swe Win  2 , Maung-Maung-Than Htike  3 , Phyu-Phyu Aye  4 , Sein Shwe  2 , Moe-Thida Htwe  2 , Zaw-Moe Thein  2
Affiliations

Betel Quid and Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders in a Periurban Township in Myanmar

Ko-Ko Zaw et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

This study aims to describe betel quid chewing practice and compare oral potentially malignant disorders between chewers and non-chewers of betel quid among residents in Dagon Myothit (East) Township, Myanmar. The study used a cross-sectional design conducted with a representative sample of 542 adults aged 18 years and above in the township. The trained interviewers collected data using a pretested structured questionnaire. On-site oral examination was done for suspected oral lesions. The mean age of the respondents was 45 years and 59% were women. Fifty-two percent of the respondents were currently in the habit of chewing betel quids (72% of men and 39% of women). Among 284 current betel quid chewers, 240 (85%) chewed betel quids together with tobacco. Out of 284 current betel quid chewers, 24 (8.5%) were found to have oral potentially malignant disorders; out of 258 betel quid non-chewers, only 1 (0.4%) was found to have oral potentially malignant disorders. This highlights the growing importance of smokeless tobacco use as public health problem.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

    1. Secretan B, Straif K, Baan R, Grosse Y, El Ghissassi F, Bouvard V, et al. A review of human carcinogens—Part E: tobacco, areca nut, alcohol, coal smoke, and salted fish. The Lancet Oncology. 2009;10(11):1033–4. - PubMed
    1. Gupta PC, Ray CS. Epidemiology of betel quid usage. Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore. 2004;33(4 Suppl):31–6. - PubMed
    1. Gupta PC, Warnakulasuriya S. Global epidemiology of areca nut usage. Addiction biology. 2002;7(1):77–83. - PubMed
    1. Ministry of Information. Encyclopedia Myanmar CD-ROM. 2005Myanmar.
    1. IARC Working Group. Tobacco habits other than smoking; betel-quid and areca-nut chewing; and some related nitrosamines. Lyon, 23–30 October 1984. IARC monographs on the evaluation of the carcinogenic risk of chemicals to humans. 1985;37:1–268. - PubMed