Oral cancer in young Jordanians: potential association with frequency of narghile smoking.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between narghile (water-pipe) smoking and the age of patients when diagnosed with oral cancer.

Study Design: Patients with oral cancer registered in the Jordanian National Cancer Registry were asked about frequency of cigarette, narghile, and alcohol use. Relationship between age at diagnosis and risk factors was assessed using multiple regression analysis.

Results: In this sample, 66% of patients were cigarette smokers, and 36% and 17% were narghile smokers and alcohol drinkers, respectively. The multivariate regression analysis adjusted for sex, cigarette smoking, and alcohol drinking found that narghile smokers were significantly younger when diagnosed with oral cancer compared with nonsmokers.

Conclusions: Narghile smoking is an independent risk factor associated with the development of oral cancer at a younger age. Prospective studies of its effect on the earlier development of oral cancer are needed to establish a cause-effect relationship.