Epidemiology and prevalence of dermatological diseases among schoolchildren of Medak district, Telangana—a clinical survey

Abstract

Background: Children are vulnerable to many skin diseases and more prone to infections, because of their socioeconomic, environmental, racial, ecological, habitual, mental, and literacy levels. Epidemiological studies in pediatric skin diseases are less, and it offers most powerful and direct method to evaluate the cause and prevalence of skin diseases in human populations. Objective: To evaluate the epidemiology and prevalence of various dermatological diseases among schoolchildren of Sangareddy, Medak, Telangana state, India. Materials and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study and was conducted in 1,000 schoolchildren of Sangareddy town and surrounding rural village of Medak district, Telangana state, India. Cases were subclassified according to the etiology and type of skin disease. Results: Total number of affected children was 754 (75.4%), while the number of nonaffected children was 246 (24.6%); 345 (45.15%) of the diseased children were boys, while 409 (54.24%) were girls; 255 of diseased children (33.81%) were living in urban residence, of which 141 (55.1%) were boys and 114 (44.9%) girls; while 499 (66.18%) of the diseased children were from rural residence, of which 205 (40.98%) were boys and 294 (59.02%) girls. Conclusion: This study reveals that girls are more commonly affected by dermatological diseases (41%) and skin diseases were more in rural (49%) children than in urban children (26.40%).