Background: Studies estimating the Tobacco- specific nitrosamines, (TSNA’s) which are the strongest carcinogens in the saliva of tobacco users and tobacco quitters, are limited. Objectives: To assess and compare the levels of N- nitrosamines (NNN, NNK) in the saliva of tobacco chewers and non-chewers including those who have quit the habit of tobacco use. Methods: The study included 120 patients who were divided into three groups of 40 each: Group I- Smokeless tobacco chewers Group II- Tobacco chewers who have completely stopped the habit at least 2 weeks prior to sample collection and Group III- non-chewers.
The salivary levels of two tobacco specific nitrosamines; NNN & NNK levels were estimated in the three study groups. Statistical analysis was done by Kruskal– Wallis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, Mann-Whitney U test. (p-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically…
