SMOKING AND DRINKING IN RELATION TO ORAL EPITHELIAL DYSPLASIA

Oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) is a histopathological diagnosis that is associated with an increased risk of oral cancer, The purpose of th is case-control study was to measure the association between OED and t he use of smoking tobacco and alcoholic beverages, Incident cases of O ED (n = 127) were identified through two oral pathology laboratories, Controls, pair-matched 1:1 to cases on age (+/-5 years), gender, appoi ntment date (+/-1 year), and surgeon, were identified through the offi ce in which the respective case had been biopsied, Exposure informatio n regarding smoking, drinking, and other potential risk factors was ob tained through a standardized telephone interview, Conditional logisti c regression was used to calculate measures of association and statist ical significance, The odds ratio (OR) for current smoking adjusted fo r drinking, mouthwash use, denture status, and education was 4.1 (95% confidence interval, 2.1-7.9) relative to never/ex-smokers. The risk o f OED increased with increasing levels of smoking and declined followi ng smoking cessation, with ex-smokers of 15+ years demonstrating no ex cess risk relative to never smokers, Individuals drinking 7+ drinks/we ek, relative to less than that amount, had over twice the risk of OED (OR, 2.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-4.8) after controlling for smok ing, mouthwash use, denture status, and education, Adjusted ORs tended to increase with increasing levels of alcohol intake, An exploratory analysis suggests that the joint effect of smoking and drinking may be more than additive as regards the risk of OED, The findings of this c ase-control study implicate smoking and drinking as important risk fac tors for OED.