Clinical manifestation and associated factors of seborrheic dermatitis in Korea.

Abstract

Systematic investigations of clinical manifestation and factors associated with the severity of seborrheic dermatitis (SD) have rarely been reported in Asia. We investigated the clinical manifestation and associated factors of SD. Patients were asked to fill a self-questionnaire including symptom severity and aggravating factors. We evaluated objective severity and involved sites of SD. Patients were categorized into three groups; young age group (age <30), middle age group (30≤ age <60), and old age group (age ≥60) and we compared clinical features among them. Among 253 patients included, scalp was the most frequently involved site and the most frequently reported aggravating factor was psychological stress. Different age groups have distinct clinical features and severity. Severity of SD decreased with age and patients in the old age group had less frequent involvement of the lower face. Risk factors of scalp involvement were male gender, disease duration ≥7 years and a history of acne. We investigated associated factors of SD and observed different clinical features between the age groups. We suggest that the adult form of SD can be categorized into three groups; young age SD, middle age SD and old age SD.