Dermatological Complaints of the Elderly Attending a Dermatology Outpatient Clinic in Turkey: A Prospective Study over a One-year Period

Abstract

The geriatric population is continuously growing, which leads to more aged patients being admitted to dermatology clinics. The aim of this study is to determine the dermatological complaints of the elderly attending a dermatology outpatient clinic. All of the patients aged 65 years and older admitted to our dermatology outpatient clinic over a 1-year period were included. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to their ages as group I (65-74 years) and group II (≥75 years). The patients were asked about their dermatologic complaints. A total of 240 geriatric patients attended to the dermatology outpatient clinic over a 1-year period. Overall, the five most frequent dermatologic complaints of the patients were eczematous dermatitis (21.7%), pruritus (19.6%), fungal infections (16.7%), precancerous and malignant lesions (9.6%), and bacterial infections (7.1%). The most frequent types of eczematous dermatitis were asteatotic eczema (26.9%), neurodermatitis (26.9%), and stasis dermatitis (17.3%). Among fungal infections, the most frequent was tinea pedis (62.5%), followed by onychomycosis (32.5%) and tinea versicolor (5.0%). The most common precancerous lesion was actinic keratosis (78.3%). Bacterial infections encountered were pyoderma (58.8%), cellulitis (23.5%), and erythrasma (17.6%). Most of the skin problems in the elderly are preventable or treatable, so proper skin care and treatment of skin diseases should be emphasized in general health care for the elderly.