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Prevalence of oral submucous fibrosis among areca nut chewers: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND
Worldwide millions peoples consume AN who are at risk of OSMF. Prevalence of OSMF is reported between 0.03 to 30 % irrespective of AN habit. Further, these estimates are based on sample population comprised of OSMF patients or general population rather AN chewers (ANC). Therefore, available evidence does not reflect the true prevalence of OSMF among ANC.


METHOD
The studies providing the prevalence of OSMF in ANC were identified in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Pooled prevalence and quality assessment using New-Ottawa Scale were performed.


RESULTS
15 studies reported the prevalence of OSMF (929) in ANC (53,213). Most studies were from China (six studies) and India (four studies) correlating with regions having high ANC. The pooled prevalence of OSMF in ANC was 5 % (0.05 [95 % CI, 0.03, 0.08]). All studies' quality was satisfactory, however, the OSMF diagnosis method, age, gender, habits need further scrutiny.


CONCLUSION
Available evidence suggested a low prevalence of OSMF in ANC, although further large-scale studies are recommended to validate this finding. Understanding the prevalence and distribution patterns of OSMF might aid intervention healthcare programs and contribute to the reduction of the oral cancer burden related to OSMF.