1. Oral lesions in young adults infected with COVID-19 and impact of smoking. A multi-country study (Preprint)
- Author
-
Heba Sabbagh, Maha El Tantawi, Nada AlKhateeb, Maryam Quritum, Joud Abourdan, Nafeesa Qureshi, Shabnum Qureshi, Ahmed H N Hamoud, Nada Mahmoud, Ruba Oden, Nuraldeen Maher Al-Khanati, Rawiah Jaber, Abdulrahman Balkhoyor, Mohammed Shabi, Morenike Folayan, Noha Gomaa, Raqiya Alnahdi, Nawal Mahmoud, Hanane El Wazziki, Manal Alnaas, Bahia Samodien, Rawa Mahmoud, Nour Abu Assab, Sherin Saad, Sondos Alhachim, Ali Alshaikh, and Wafaa Abdelaziz
- Abstract
UNSTRUCTURED Objectives: To assess the reported presence of oral lesions in COVID-19-infected young adults and the difference between smokers and non-smokers in this association. Methods: This cross-sectional multi-country study recruited 18-to-23 year-old adults using an electronic validated questionnaire assessing COVID-19-infection, smoking and the presence of oral lesions/conditions (dry mouth, change in taste, and others). Multi-level logistic regression assessed the association between oral lesions and COVID-19 infection, and how smoking modified the associations between COVID-19 and oral lesions/conditions. Results: Data was available from 5342 respondents from 43 countries. Of these, 8.1% reported COVID-19-infection, 42.7% had oral lesions and 12.3% were smokers. A significantly greater percentage of COVID-19-infected participants reported dry mouth and change in taste than non-infected persons. Smokers had significantly higher odds of stained teeth with COVID-19 infection than non-smokers (AOR: 1.24 and 1.00; p=0.02). The association between COVID-19-infection and dry mouth was stronger among smokers than non-smokers (AOR=1.26 and 1.03, p=0.09) while the association with change in taste was stronger among non-smokers (AOR=1.22 and 1.13, p= 0.86). Conclusion: Dry mouth and changed taste were associated with COVID-19-infection and may be used to screen for COVID-19 in low COVID-19-testing environments. Smoking may modify the association between some oral lesions and COVID-19-infection.
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF