Youth hooked to areca-nut (chalia), paan and gutka are about eight to nine times more likely to develop oral cancers as well as cardio-vascular diseases.
These are extremely addictive substances that enhance the vulnerability of consumers to oral cancers as well as to cardio-vascular diseases, said a senior ENT surgeon Prof M Umer Farooq, and a community health expert Dr Kashif Shafique. Sharing details of a recently concluded research at DUHS, also published in Nutrition Journal, Dr Umer Farooq said oral cancers are observed in a relatively younger population of the country.
“Oral cancer that was previously registered in people above 50 years of age is now witnessed even in children as young as 12 to 15 years-old,” he said.
These kids were those who were found hooked to areca-nut, gutka and manpuri. Consequences of chewing areca-nut and its bi-products has also been found associated with metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors which are well known to cause cardiovascular diseases, said Assistant Professor of Community Medicine, DUHS and the co-researcher Dr Kashif Shafique.
He said consumption of chalia and pan-gutka, a major risk factor to cause cancer and cardiovascular diseases, was rampant in our country.
Dr Kashif Shafique said previously conducted researches in other countries have also shown that areca nut chewing increases the chances of death consequent to cardiac ailments.
“Our findings add to the evidence that areca nut chewing may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease among its chewers which ultimately leads to higher death rates among these individuals,” he said.
The recently held research at DUHS also established that areca nut chewing increases the likelihood for metabolic syndrome among healthy individuals. This is besides the fact that addition of different chemicals in areca nuts causes mouth cancer which occurs as a result of genetic changes that take place due to the chewing habits of areca-nut, paan and gutka.
Dr Kashif said the DUHS study assessed the health of more than 1,000 healthy individuals in Karachi and found that although the harmful metabolic effects were evident among both, males and females, yet the females had much higher risk of developing these conditions as compared to males.
In reply to a question about vulnerability of consumers to oral cancers, the researchers said the fungus causing cancers cannot be seen, as areca-nut and gutka marketed in the city are coated with non-edible colours and sweeteners.
These are again extremely injurious to human health, they said. “If a person finds that mouth sores are not going away after 15 days of treatment, he should immediately consult a specialist,” said the senior doctors-cum-researchers.
Someone with lump in the mouth was also recommended to immediately consult a doctor. The researcher said DUHS study also identified that adverse impact on areca-nut chewers was even higher for those who were using it with other tobacco additives and flavouring agents.