Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions considering fertility status in women of Shahedieh cohort population: A cross sectional cohort study in 2018

Backgrounds: A few large population-based studies have been conducted on the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in relation to fertility status in the Iranian population. Objectives: to determine the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in relation to fertility status in women participants of Shahedieh cohort study. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 4935 women who participated in the Shahedieh cohort study. The age range of participants was 35-71 years with a mean age of 47.12 years. The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions considering fertility variables including pregnancy, number of pregnancy, oophorectomy, tubectomy, hysterectomy, infertility, menopause, normal menopause, and abortion, application of infertility and oral contraceptive drugs and hormone replacement therapy were recorded. Results: The total prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in the studied women were 3.8%. The most commonly affected age group was 40-49 years, followed by 30-39, 50-59 and 60-71 years, respectively. Considering the fertility variables, only menopause (P=0.047) and normal menopause (P=0.024) significantly related to the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions. Conclusions: The findings of the present study provide information on the prevalence of the oral mucosal lesions considering fertility status in a large population-based study in Iran. With due attention to the higher prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in menopause women, an improved comprehension of oral manifestations at menopause and preventive and treatment approaches during this period should be programmed with health care services to meet the needs of patients deservingly.