Sociodemographic factors and their association to prevalence of skin diseases among adolescents

Abstract

Introduction: The pattern of skin diseases in any community is influenced by genetic constitution, climate, socioeconomic status, occupation, education, hygienic standards, customs and quality of medical care. The burden of skin disease also has an impact on the Quality of Life of adolescents. This study aims to investigate the level of awareness and assess the prevalence of different types of skin diseases among adolescents in Mauritius. Material and Methods: 500 adolescents and young adults of both sexes and aged between 11-23 years were recruited. A questionnaire was used to elicit information and to assess the knowledge status of skin diseases and to determine possible risk factors. In addition, a validated questionnaire based on Quality of Life Index was used to determine the psychosocial effect of adolescents suffering from skin diseases. Data was analysed using IBM Statistics SPSS version 20 and Microsoft Excel 2007. Results: Incidence of skin diseases was 22.9% in males and 24.7% females respectively. Acne was the most common skin problems in both gender followed by fungal infection (2.9%) in males and eczema (2.4%) in females. Climatic conditions (e.g summer), consumption of oily and spicy foods, sports practice and familial history were correlated positively with prevalence of skin diseases. Conclusion: Acne, eczema and fungal infection were the most common skin diseases identified. The findings also indicate that more respondents between 15-19 years old were more prone to skin diseases.