Prevalence of skin diseases in geriatric population aged over 65 years in Düzce Province

Purpose: Aging is an unavoidable condition that affects the whole organ system including skin. Geriatric population covers the individuals aged 65 years and older. In time the geriatric population has shown an increase throughout the world. The aim of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of dermatological diseases in the geriatric population aged 65 years and older and identify the sociodemographic characteristics. Material and Method: This study included 300 patients, who were aged 65 years and older and applied to the outpatient clinic of Department of Dermatology at the Faculty of Medicine at Düzce University between October 2013 and January 2014. Clinical findings and sociodemographic data of the patients were recorded. Results: 130 of the patients were female and 170 of the patients were male. The average age of the patients was 73.57 ± 6.805 years. A total of 77 (25.7%) patients were diagnosed with eczematous dermatitis. 35 patients (45%) had xerosis. Psoriasis vulgaris was detected in 15 patients (5%), while pruritus was detected in 73 patients (24.3%) and lichen planus in 5 patients (1.7%). Furthermore, 89 patients (29.7%) showed fungal infections. The most common benign skin tumors was isolated seborrheic keratosis (%27,3) . Cellulitis was the most commonly encountered bacterial skin infection with 21 patients (7%) affected. The most frequent viral skin infection was zoster, which was detected in 10 (3.3%) patients. Conclusion: Keeping the dermatological problems frequently experienced by geriatric age group in mind may enable early diagnosis and treatment of several diseases. Key Words: dermatological diseases, geriatric, prevalence