Oral and Maxillofacial Lesions Diagnosed in Older People of a Brazilian Population: A Multicentric Study.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of oral and maxillofacial lesions among older adults (≥60 years) from representative regions in Brazil.

DESIGN

Retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Biopsy records were obtained from the archives of four Brazilian referral centers of oral diagnosis between 2000 and 2016.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 45,506 biopsy records of all patients were analyzed, of these 7,259 persons aged 60 and older were selected.

MEASUREMENTS: Data such as gender, age, race, anatomical location, and histopathological diagnosis were collected and categorized. Pearson's chi-square test (P < .005) was used to evaluate differences in the frequency of the several groups of oral lesions.

RESULTS

Oral and maxillofacial lesions were diagnosed in 7,259 older people, including 59.4% women (P < .001) and 61.3% white patients (P = .07). The most commonly affected sites were the cheek mucosa (20.3%) and mandible (8.9%) (P < .001). Reactive and inflammatory lesions were the most common lesions, followed by neoplasms. Oral squamous cell carcinoma was the most prevalent neoplasm (83.4%) (P < .001).

CONCLUSION

Knowledge of oral diseases obtained from biopsy records provides more accurate data about the diagnosis and oral health of elderly patients. These indicators thus support the development of specific health policies for the prevention and treatment of oral and maxillofacial lesions that affect this population.