Director, Dental Public Health Residency Program Division of Oral Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships: . Priyanka Agrawal, M.Sc.D, M.P.H.: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Liang Wei, MS: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Mei Lin, MD, MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Shahdokht Boroumand, DMD MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Gina Thornton-Evans, DDS, MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: It is estimated that in 2021 there will be 10,850 oral cavity cancer deaths in the US. These deaths are more prevalent among racial/ethnic minorities than among non-Hispanic White adults. This study examines prevalence of self-reported oral cancer screening (OCS) and variation by race/ethnicity among adults, 30 years and older.
METHODS: We used nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2018) for adults ≥30 years of age. Respondents were asked if they ever had an oral cancer exam where a doctor or dentist pulled on the tongue, with a gauze or felt under the tongue and inside the cheeks. We estimated prevalence and racial/ethnic variation in prevalence of self-reported OCS and the last time an OCS was received. We used t-tests to determine statistical significance (p < 0.05).
RESULTS: The analytic sample included 13,701 adults, representing 190 million individuals. Overall, 28.9% of adults reported receiving an OCS. Prevalence of OCS was higher among Non-Hispanic White adults (37.3%) than among non-Hispanic Black (14.2%) and Mexican American (7.2%) adults. Among adults with an OCS, 66.8% were screened within the past year and 19.6% within one to three years ago; having a past-year OCS was higher among non-Hispanic Whites (67.9%) than among non-Hispanic Black (57.9%) adults.
CONCLUSIONS: Less than one-third of US adults 30 years and older reported ever having an OCS, with racial/ethnic minorities having lower prevalence. Increasing OCS among minority and high-risk subgroups may contribute to early detection of oral cancers.
