Prevalence of skin disorders among geriatric patients in the black sea region of Turkey

Abstract

Aging is an unavoidable process affecting all organ systems including the skin. The elderly population is defined as people aged ≥65 years, and the elderly population is growing worldwide. The present study aims to determine the prevalence of dermatological diseases in the elderly patients aged ≥65 years and evaluate sociodemographic characteristics. The data of 300 geriatric patients aged ≥65 years who were admitted to our clinic between October 2013 and January 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Of these patients, 130 (43.3%) were female and 170 (57.7%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 73.57 ±6.80 years. Eczematous dermatitis was detected in 77 of patients (25.7%). Of these patients, 135 (45%) had xerosis. The most common benign skin tumor was isolated seborrheic keratosis (n=82,58%). Actinic keratosis comprised the majority of malignant and premalignant lesions that occurred in 25 patients (8.3%). Cellulitis was the most common bacterial skin infection that occurred in 21 patients (7%). The rate of lichen planus was 0.6% in males and significantly more common in females with a rate of 3.1% (p=0.09; p<0.05). The rate of xerosis was 39.2% in patients aged 65-74 years, 53% in patients aged 75-84 years, and 54.2% in patients aged ≥85 years. The relationship between age and the rate of xerosis showed a borderline significance (p=0.05; p<0.05). Keeping in mind the most common dermatological problems in geriatric patients would enable early diagnosis of the conditions and selection of appropriate therapies.

A Retrospective Review of Chronic Non-Communicable Dermatoses Among Older Adults at a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in Southwestern Nigeria

“…Eczemas (37.0%) were the most frequently diagnosed chronic NCDs amongst older adults in this study. A similar finding of high prevalence of eczemas amongst older persons was reported by Wang et al [41] in China as well as several other researchers in different geographical regions [18,22,35,[42][43][44]. The older adults account for 5.8% of dermatology consultations for vitiligo [54], while in Singapore and Kuwait, up to 14% of subjects with vitiligo have late onset vitiligo [55,56].…”

“…The true incidence of chronic NCDs as a collective group of dermatoses in older adults is unknown. Nevertheless, a similarly high prevalence can be inferred from previous works on individual dermatoses that constitute this spectrum in older adults [18,[33][34][35][36].…”

Herpes Zoster Burden of Disease and Clinical Management in Turkey: A Comprehensive Literature Review

“…A fourth study at an emergency department in Istanbul during 2016 reported that 1.17% ( N = 35) of dermatological patients had HZ, representing 0.02% of all emergency cases [ 29 ]. Notably, two independent analyses of Turkish geriatric dermatology patients admitted between 2009 and 2014 ( N = 7412) and 2013–2014 ( N = 300) found that HZ was the most common viral-related skin disorder, representing 88% ( N = 385) and 58.8% ( N = 17) of viral infections, respectively [ 30 , 31 ].…”

“…Across multiple studies, it was reported that 13.2–21.4% of HZ cases resulted in any complication and overall, PHN was the most commonly reported complication (Table 2 ) [ 26 – 29 , 31 , 53 – 55 ]. However, the proportion of patients who developed PHN varied substantially across independent studies.…”

“…On the other hand, there were four articles reporting HZ prevalence (0.43–1.56%) among dermatology patients in Turkey. Two studies reported that HZ was the most common viral-skin disorder among geriatric patients [ 30 , 31 ]. However, since the majority of data on HZ prevalence were reported from clinical admissions, these values may underrepresent actual case numbers, as some individuals may not seek medical care.…”