Effect of Smoking on the Oral Mucosa of Young Individuals: Cytomorphometric Analysis

Abstract

Smoking is known as an important risk factor for the development of oral cancer. The present study assessed the effect of manufactured cigarettes on the nuclear area (NA), cytoplasmic area (CA), and nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio (NA/CA) in oral epithelial cells in young adults. Oral smears were collected by liquid-based exfoliative cytology from clinically healthy jugal mucosa in 58 individuals (28 smokers and 30 non-smokers). Glass slides were processed in the laboratory, stained by the Papanicolaou technique, and analyzed using an image analysis system according to the methodology developed by Ogden et al. (1990). Two thousand nine hundred epithelial cells were evaluated. Mean NA values for the experimental and control groups were 1530.6µm² and 1498.6µm², respectively. Mean CA values were 63780.3µm² and 62929.9µm², respectively. The NA/CA ratio for the experimental group was 0.023, as compared to 0.024 for the control group. The Student's t-test showed no statistical difference for the variables studied (p<0.05). According to the results, manufactured cigarettes were not capable of inducing significant morphometric changes in the oral epithelial cells of young adults, thus reinforcing the hypothesis that long exposure to tobacco is necessary before cellular changes occur.