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Awareness and health-enhancing behavior of oral cancer among high school students
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Abstract
Introduction. An increase in head and neck cancers has been observed. Recent findings show an association between those cancers and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. It is known that HPV infections lead to oral cancers, especially among adolescents. Material and methods. An author-delivered questionnaire was carried out among 774 high school students. The survey covered questions about epidemiology, lifestyle, dental behavior, and oral cancer prevention and risk factors. Results. 29.1% of students smoke or vape. 34.9% of respondents think that HPV infections can cause oral cancer. It is believed that transmission occurs through sexual activity (72.2%), vertical (47.5%), horizontal (23.8%), and auto-transmission (14.6%). 20.4% of interviewees noticed changes in their oral mucosa and 20.0% perform mouth self-examination. Conclusions. Students do not have adequate knowledge of oral cancer. Smoking and drinking are still at a high level. The lack of knowledge prevailed in technical schools. Participants attending classes with an advanced curriculum in science had better lifestyle habits than others. There is a need to improve head and neck cancers education and awareness among youth attending technical schools and schools with non-scientific curriculums.
Abstract
Introduction. An increase in head and neck cancers has been observed. Recent findings show an association between those cancers and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. It is known that HPV infections lead to oral cancers, especially among adolescents. Material and methods. An author-delivered questionnaire was carried out among 774 high school students. The survey covered questions about epidemiology, lifestyle, dental behavior, and oral cancer prevention and risk factors. Results. 29.1% of students smoke or vape. 34.9% of respondents think that HPV infections can cause oral cancer. It is believed that transmission occurs through sexual activity (72.2%), vertical (47.5%), horizontal (23.8%), and auto-transmission (14.6%). 20.4% of interviewees noticed changes in their oral mucosa and 20.0% perform mouth self-examination. Conclusions. Students do not have adequate knowledge of oral cancer. Smoking and drinking are still at a high level. The lack of knowledge prevailed in technical schools. Participants attending classes with an advanced curriculum in science had better lifestyle habits than others. There is a need to improve head and neck cancers education and awareness among youth attending technical schools and schools with non-scientific curriculums.
Keywords
oral cancer, knowledge, risk factors, HPV, high school students, tobacco smoking, electronic cigarettes smoking, alcohol consumption, health education
About this articleTitle
Awareness and health-enhancing behavior of oral cancer among high school students
Journal
Nowotwory. Journal of Oncology
Issue
Article type
Research paper (original)
Pages
47-54
Published online
2019-08-02
Page views
569
Article views/downloads
700
DOI
Bibliographic record
Nowotwory. Journal of Oncology 2019;69(2):47-54.
Keywords
oral cancer
knowledge
risk factors
HPV
high school students
tobacco smoking
electronic cigarettes smoking
alcohol consumption
health education
Authors
Katarzyna Wnuk
Anna Maria Badowska-Kozakiewicz