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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2019 Apr 15;19(1):105.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-019-1100-8.

Prevalence and associated factors of intertrigo in aged nursing home residents: a multi-center cross-sectional prevalence study

Sabrina Gabriel  1 , Elisabeth Hahnel  2 , Ulrike Blume-Peytavi  2 , Jan Kottner  2   3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Prevalence and associated factors of intertrigo in aged nursing home residents: a multi-center cross-sectional prevalence study

Sabrina Gabriel et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: In geriatric and long-term care settings, intertrigo seems to be common, but generalizable epidemiological estimates are lacking. Aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of intertrigo in aged nursing home residents and to identify possible relationships with demographic and health characteristics.

Methods: A cross-sectional prevalence study was conducted between September 2014 and May 2015 in a random sample of ten institutional long-term care facilities in Berlin, Germany. In total 223, aged long-term care residents were included. Mean age was 83.6 (SD 8.0) years and mean Barthel score was 45.1 (SD 23.8). Board certified dermatologists and study assistants performed skin assessments and measurements according to standard operating procedures. Mean differences and odds ratios between residents with and without intertrigo were calculated.

Results: The prevalence of intertrigo was 16.1% (95% CI 11.6 to 21.2%). The submammary fold was most often affected (9.9%), followed by the inguinal region (9.4%), axilla (0.5%) and abdominal region (0.5%). Increased age was statistically significantly associated with the presence of intertrigo (OR 1.05; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.10). Care dependency in bathing activities was associated with intertrigo. Obesity, sex and skin functional parameters were not associated with intertrigo.

Conclusions: Every sixth nursing home resident was affected by intertrigo indicating the high load of this skin condition in this population. Older age seems to be associated with intertrigo. Care dependency in bathing activities was likely to be associated with intertrigo. Structured skin care regimens are needed to prevent and treat intertrigo in this population.

Trial registration: This study is registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02216526 . Registration date: 8th November 2014.

Keywords: Elderly; Intertrigo; Nursing homes; Prevalence; Risk.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the ethics committee of the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (EA1/190/14). Written informed consent was obtained from the residents themselves or their legal representatives prior any study procedure. This study is registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02216526.

Consent to publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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