Abstract

A cross-sectional survey of 18,621 adults of both sexes living in rural tribal areas of the Dungarpur and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan, India was conducted to correlate the prevalence of osteo-dental fluorosis with nutritional status, living habits, and occupation. The mean fluoride (F) concentration in drinking water sources ranged from 1.0 to 6.1 ppm. Among subjects with poor nutrition, the prevalence of dental fluorosis rose to 61.6% and skeletal fluorosis to 23.9%. A high incidence of fluorosis was also observed in subjects using substances such as alcohol, betel nuts, citrus fruits, edible ghee or fat, tea, and tobacco. The highest incidence of dental (90.1%) and skeletal ( 60.8%) fluorosis was observed in alcohol or beverage users and the lowest (30.8% an d 8.9%) in the citrus fruits users, respectively. Subjects with different occupations exhibited a variable incidence of dental and skeletal fluorosis. Labourers showed the highest incidence of dental and skeletal fluorosis (63.1% and 26.2%), followed by farmers (61.2% and 21.8%), housewives (57.1% and 13.2%), businessmen (54.2% and 14.4%), students (54.2% and 9.5%), and servicemen (51.5% and 15.9% ), respectively. These data pertaining to the relationship of osteo-dental fluorosis with nutritional status, living habits, and occupation were statistically analysed and found to exhibit highly positive correlations. Possible causes for differences in the incidence of fluorosis in relation to nutritional status, habits , and occupation are discussed.

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