A cross-sectional study was done to compare the presence of micronucleus in buccal epithelial cells between betel quid chewers and non-betel quid chewers in Zamboanga City. Purposive sampling was used to enroll the 104 participants (52 betel quid chewers and 52 non-betel quid chewers). The demographic profiles and betel quid chewing habits of the participants were obtained using a questionnaire. Buccal cells samples were collected using clean and dry tongue depressors and were smeared directly onto pre-cleaned glass slides which were processed for Papanicolaou staining by a medical technologist. For each slide, 1000 buccal cells were examined using a light microscope with an attached camera. Photomicrographs of buccal cells with micronuclei were taken. Two pathologists separately validated the results through the photomicrographs. Intraclass correlation coefficient for inter-rater reliability gave a value of 1 which indicates high reliability among observers. The results revealed that the medians of the frequencies of micronucleus among betel quid chewers and non-betel quid chewers were 56.5 and 36, respectively. Mann-Whitney U test revealed a significant difference (p=0.031) at α=0.05 in the frequency of micronucleus between the 2 groups. There were 19 out of 52 betel quid chewers who have frequency of micronucleus above the cut-off value and on the other hand, 8 out of 52 among the non-betel quid chewers. Pearson’s correlation coefficient revealed that there was a very weak negative relationship (r = -0.072) between total frequency of micronucleus and lifetime betel quid exposure among the exposed group. It was concluded that betel-quid chewers have significantly higher number of frequency of micronucleus compared to non-betel quid chewers which puts them at higher risk for developing oral malignancies.

Keyword: Micronucleus in Buccal cells Betel quid chewers and non-betel quid chewers