Introduction:

Actinic cheilitis is an inflammatory, potentially malignant lesion associated with excessive sun exposure.

Objective:

To evaluate the prevalence of actinic cheilitis in a group of farmers, as well as the perception and knowledge of that group about this lesion.

Methods:

The observational epidemiological study included Brazilian semi-arid region farmers. The sample was obtained for accessibility to this population and a total of 219 farmers was reached. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data in addition to the intraoral physical examination.

Results:

Actinic cheilitis was diagnosed in 30.6% of the examined farmers. The lesion was found more frequently in males (86.6%), older than 60 years (64.2%), and leukoderma (58.2%). Most individuals with actinic cheilitis were exposed to solar radiation for more than 30 years (65.7%), for more than 6 hours a day (73.1%), and did not adequately protect themselves (94%). Sex, age, education level, drinking habits, and time of sun exposure had a statistically significant correlation with the presence of actinic cheilitis (p <0.05). It was found that 76.1% of the participants did not notice signs and 61.2% did not perceive symptoms of this injury. Knowledge about actinic cheilitis was low for 97% of individuals with the lesion.

Conclusions:

The results showed a high prevalence of actinic cheilitis, in addition to low perception and knowledge about it, which indicates the need for health education actions.

        · abstract in Portuguese | Spanish     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )