An epidemiological study of cheilitis in certain areas of China

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of exfoliative cheilitis (EC) and the possible risk factors among male population in certain areas of China. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out on male adults in 3 different areas of China. A total of 1085 male adults (including 706 in Lhasa, 379 in Xi'an) were selected by the cluster sampling method. All the subjects were asked to fill in a questionnaire and examined in July 2006. Results: The survey results showed that the prevalence of EC in Lhasa, and Xi'an is 59.6%, 7.7% respectively. Significant difference can be observed between Lhasa and Xi'an using partitions of ÷2 method. Of all the1085 male adults,606 individuals (55.87%) had ever suffered from EC. Among these 606 individuals, 527 individuals (86.92%) usually suffered from EC in winter, the lesion usually affect lower lip of 165 individuals (31.31%) and both lips of 346 individuals (57.1%) (p<0.01). Statistical logistic regression analysis showed that EC is related to smoking history, labor intensity, amount of water drinking, susceptivity to common cold, outdoor occupation, duration of habitation in the locality, and all regression coefficient are positive. Conclusion: According to the high prevalence in Lhasa, we speculate that special environment and climate in Tibet may be the most important risk factors of EC in that area. The preventive methods including medicines need to be further studied to decrease the prevalence and the extent of EC in Tibet.