Skin diseases among elderly patients attending skin clinic at the Regional Dermatology Training Centre, Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundAs global population of the elderly continues to rise, a critical need to provide it with health services, including dermatology, will be significant, especially in developing countries like Tanzania. To adequately meet their dermatologic needs, knowledge of local patterns of skin conditions is vital. This study was aimed to describe the spectrum of skin diseases among elderly patients attending skin clinic at the Regional Dermatology Training Centre (RDTC) in Northern Tanzania.MethodsA descriptive hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2013 and April 2013 at RDTC and included all patients aged 55 years and above who consented to be examined. Diagnoses were clinical, diagnostic tests being done only when necessary. Ethical clearance to conduct the study was granted.ResultsA total of 142 patients, age ranges 55–99 years, median age of 67.5 years were seen. Eczemas were the leading disease group (43.7 %), with unclassified eczemas (33.9 %) predominating. Papulosquamous disorders (15.4 %) were second with psoriasis (50 %) being the leading disease. Infections (11.3 % with fungal infections the leading group representing 5.6 % of all diseases), tumours (9.8 %: Kaposi’s sarcoma 4.2 %), vascular disorders 9.1 % (lymphedema 4.9 %), autoimmune disorders 7.7 % (connective tissue diseases 4.9 %), vitiligo 4.2 %, nutritional diseases 2.1 % (pellagra 0.7 %), urticaria 0.7 % and drug reactions 0.7 %.ConclusionsEczemas are the most common group of disorders among elderly patients presenting at RDTC.

Burden, pattern, associated factors and impact on quality of life of dermatological disorders among the elderly in Ilala Municipality, Dar es Salaam

“…Eczemas were the second-most-commonly observed disorders (34.7%). This contrasts with earlier data from previous studies, which showed that eczema was the most frequent skin illness in most hospitalbased investigations, with rates ranging from 11.9-58.7% (5). The prevalence of eczematous diseases in the elderly in the community-based study reported a higher prevalence similar to our study by 28.7%…”

“…These ndings were similar to those of two other studies, which found that the most common dermatological disorders in older individuals were skin infections (38.61%) and (23.7%), respectively (13,14). However, the study conducted at a tertiary hospital in Northern Tanzania, reported that skin infections and infestations were less prevalent (11%) in elderly patients (5). This disparity in ndings could be explained by the fact that the high frequencies are likely due to the warm and highly humid climate, overcrowding, and poor personal and skin hygiene in the city (15) .…”

“…In the elderly population, several factors in uence development and presence of dermatological disorders, ranging from co-morbid medical illnesses and medications used to treat them to social-economic factors and the environment (5).Furthermore, as people age, their skin undergoes both intrinsically and extrinsically changes, leaving them more vulnerable. For instance, it is known there is a reduction in physiological reserves during ageing, which raises the risk of progressive blood vessel atrophy, degradation of the supportive dermis, and collagen and elastin bre disorders (6).…”

Occurrence and challenges in the management of severe chronic plaque type psoriasis in a limited resourced setting: a case report

“…Psoriasis affect patients' perceptions of themselves and this can potentially initiate or exacerbate psychological disorders such as depression, thus proper counselling, empathy and retaining patients in care is absolute. A recent study analyzing skin diseases among elderly patients attending a dermatology unit in Tanzania revealed an overall prevalence of psoriasis to be 7.7%, which is relatively higher than the worldwide prevalence of 2.2-3.9% [10]. This could serve as a wakeup call to raise awareness of the complexity of this multifaceted disease especially as most of the milder cases could go undiagnosed or discovered incidentally.…”

Comparative Analysis of Pattern of Dermatological Disorders Treated During 2019 and 2020 at Benazir Bhutto Hospital Rawalpindi and Hospital Statistics: A Rapid Review of Effect of Covid-19

“…In ours study, erythroderma constituted the greatest magnitude of skin diseases both during 2019 and 2020 followed by pemphigus vulgaris, eczema and cellulitis. A similar cross-sectional study carried out in Tanzania revealed that eczema was the most frequent dermatological problem followed by papulosquamous disorders, fungal infections and tumors [13]. Likewise, a research among general public attending the Dermatology OPD of a tertiary healthcare facility of Lahore disclosed that most of the patients were 20-40 years old and eczema constituted the greatest magnitude (31.07%) of dermatological illnesses.…”