Prevalência de queilite actínica e fatores associados em pescadores de uma comunidade rural ribeirinha da Amazônia

Abstract

This study evaluated the prevalence of actinic cheilitis in fishermen from a rural riverside community in the Amazon and the factors associated with the development of this condition. A cross-sectional, home-based study was carried out, evaluating the universe of male fishermen in the Boas Novas community, located in the municipality of Careiro, Amazonas. A questionnaire was applied through an interview, collecting demographic data and socioeconomic status; health-related behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption and use of oral health services); and occupational aspects related to actinic cheilitis (sun exposure accumulated over years, daily sun exposure, use of photoprotective measures). The questionnaire was developed using the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) application. The presence of cheilitis was assessed through clinical examination of the lip region, and the lesions were classified, according to severity, into grades I, II or III. The data were exported to Stata software. Descriptive analysis was performed and factors associated with actinic cheilitis were identified using Poisson regression analysis. The fishermen were, on average, 41.6 years old, with the majority being brown (53.5%), with an average monthly family income of R$1750.57. Of the total, 7.1% of fishermen reported being smokers and 39.3% consumed alcoholic beverages. The majority did not use the dental service in the last year (67.8%), with the last visit being carried out more than three years ago by 35.7% of the fishermen. The average time in fishing activity was 27.9 years, with 9,8 hours per day, on average. Approximately half of them (53.6%) worked seven days a week. Among the photoprotective measures, it was observed that the vast majority did not use sunscreen (75%) or lip balm (89.3%) and used boats or canoes without sun coverage (85.7%). The prevalence of actinic cheilitis was 3.5% in grade I, 28.6% in grade II and 28.6% in grade III. White skin color and not having been to the dentist in the last three years were associated with a higher prevalence of the lesion, while using lip sunscreen was a protective factor for actinic cheilitis. In conclusion, fishermen from the rural riverside community presented a high prevalence of actinic cheilitis, especially at higher degrees of severity. Photoprotective measures and the use of oral health services need to be guaranteed, considering their association with the occurrence of the injury.