Tongue lesions: prevalence and association with gender, age and health-affected behaviors

Abstract

Objective The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of tongue lesions and to relate their occurrence to gender, age and health-affected behaviors in a group of Thai dental patients. Materials and methods One thousand and six hundred Thai dental patients, dividing into three age groups were clinically examined for tongue lesions. Information regarding smoking and drinking habits was collected from the interview. Results Among the 1600 subjects, 83.3% had at least one tongue lesion, with a prevalence of 87% for men and 80.9% for women (P = .002). The three most common tongue lesions were coated tongue (68.4%), fissured tongue (22.8%) and crenated tongue (10.4%). Coated tongue, fissured tongue, lingual varicosities, and hairy tongue were more common in men than in women (P = .006, P < .001, P = .030 and P < .001, respectively). The prevalence of tongue lesions increased with age (P < .001). The prevalence rates of coated tongue, fissured tongue, lingual varicosities, macroglossia, atrophic tongue, and hairy tongue increased with age (P = .014, P < .001, P < .001, P = .006, P < .001, P < .001, respectively). Contrary to this, the prevalence of geographic tongue decreased with age (P = .016). The occurrence of coated and hairy tongue was associated with smoking and alcohol drinking. Conclusion The prevalence of tongue lesions in a Thai population was high and was related to gender, age and health-affected behaviors. (CU Dent J. 2007;30:269-78)